Finding light in the 'dark' land

(Baonghean.vn) - Currently, Chau Phong commune (Quy Chau, Nghe An) has only 3/19 villages with national grid electricity, which significantly affects the socio-economic development process. To have a source of light, people in the 'dark' villages have come up with unique initiatives.

Like people in areas without electricity, people in villages without electricity (16/19 villages) in Chau Phong mostly use mini hydroelectric power to light up. However, the water level of the streams is decreasing, often washed away by floods and is not safe, so people have started to switch to other solutions. Some families have spent a large amount of money to pull electric wires from relatives' houses in Chau Thanh commune (Quy Hop) to light up.

The light bulb cluster of Mrs. Vi Thi Lan's family, Pieng Cam village (Chau Phong - Quy Chau) was removed from a rechargeable lamp. Photo: Cong Kien.

However, pulling a 4-5km power line is a significant expense, and only high-income families who are willing to spend money can do it. Not to mention the risk of power loss, theft and lack of safety, especially on rainy days. Therefore, the solution that is being used quite commonly is to use energy from batteries for lighting. When the battery runs out of energy, go to a friend's house in a village with grid electricity to charge it.

However, not every family can buy batteries and have the conditions to charge them regularly, so they have to find other "initiatives" to push back the darkness. Mrs. Vi Thi Lan's small house is located at the end of Pieng Cam village, near Chau Thanh commune (Quy Hop). Surrounded by hills, quite far from residential areas, from Mrs. Lan's house to the nearest house is about 400m, and there is no electricity grid, so at night it is almost pitch black.

The cluster of bulbs is connected to 4 batteries, has an on-off switch and is hung on the roof. Photo: Cong Kien.

Because her family was poor and could not afford to buy batteries, Ms. Lan used to use kerosene lamps for lighting. Recently, a relative gave her a bunch of bulbs taken from a rechargeable lamp. This bunch of bulbs was connected to 4 batteries to form a block, had an on-off switch, and was then hung from the roof with a rope. When the switch was turned on, the bunch of bulbs emitted light within a range of 3-4 square meters.

Ms. Lan said that the light bulbs are only turned on during dinner and when guests come to visit at night. The reason is that the batteries are expensive, so every month she has to spend about 60,000 VND to buy batteries to light up, not a large amount of money but a big worry for her family.

This cluster of light bulbs is only used by Mrs. Lan during dinner and when guests come to visit at night. Photo: Cong Kien.

Also in Pieng Cam village, Lang Thi Ha’s house is almost completely dark at night. The only source of light for her family is a small flashlight, which is only turned on during dinner and for the children’s studies. Every night, Lo Thi Hong Anh, Ha’s eldest daughter, ties the flashlight to her forehead to shine on her books to study and do her homework. The next day, Hong Anh brings the flashlight to class to charge for studying at night.

Lo Thi Hong Anh - daughter of Lang Thi Ha, Pieng Cam village (Chau Phong - Quy Chau) uses a flashlight to study. Photo: Cong Kien.

The biggest wish of the people of 16 villages without electricity in Chau Phong commune is for the Electricity sector to pay attention and soon deploy the construction of a power transmission system to serve people's lives and socio-economic development.

Cong Kien