Linus reflektioner kring Tanzaniaresan

Den här resan har utan tvivel varit mycket lärorik för mig. Att man har fått träffa och lära känna nya trevliga människor och utbyta erfarenheter samt ta del av varandras kultur, har gjort att jag har vuxit som person. Att få prata med människor så långt hemifrån var både kul och tankeställande. Saker som är allmänt känt i Tanzania är exempelvis inte allmänt känt i Sverige och vice versa. När de frågade om jag kände till några artister från Tanzania såg jag ut som ett frågetecken lika mycket som när de fick höra om skidåkning.

Jag känner även att man har fått helt andra referensramar efter resan och man känner sig allt mer tacksam för hur bra man verkligen har det i Sverige. Trots att Tanzanias klimat slår vårt med hästlängder.

Det bemötande vi fick vid Hekima, hos Raphael och egentligen under hela resan är något jag kommer ta med mig för resten av livet. De var alltid genuint glada att se oss. Jag känner sig alltid varm inombords när tänker tillbaka på dem.

Stora delar av första veckan spenderade vi utan ström eller varmt vatten vilket var annorlunda men gav som sagt andra perspektiv. Att det skulle vara så grönt i Tanzania hade jag svårt att föreställa mig innan resan samt att Victoriasjön är så ofantligt stor (lätt att ta för ett hav).

Om det är något jag hade önskat av resan så hade det varit att få uppleva mer av deras fantastiska natur och djurliv. En safaritur tänker jag definitivt planera in i min framtid. 

Allt som allt överträffade resan mina förväntningar och jag tänker fortfarande på alla människor jag har fått lära känna under resan.

Tack för den här möjligheten.

Reflektioner från Lovisa

Tja tja bloggen (part 4)!!

“Ses i Amsterdam!!” var det en viss tjej som sa. Kanske inte årets cliffhanger, men verkligen inte det mest trogna löftet jag hållit. Planen var ju att vi skulle ge er en liten hint varom vi kraschat eller inte efter att vi hade landat i Nederländerna. Gullig och ambitiös avsikt kan man tänka sig, men sömndruckna som vi var blev verkställandet lika med noll.

Trötta, övermättade på intryck och iklädda sådär lagom bra tempererade kläder, varken anpassade efter Ugandas fuktiga klimat eller den nordiska frostiga vintern. Det var väl där någonstans jag lämnade er senast. Men tiden går, årstiderna förändras och simsalabim är det drygt en vecka kvar tills vi tar studenten. Med andra ord var det ett bra tag sedan vårt Tanzaniaäventyr, och då tänker ni såklart: Vad passar inte bättre än en liten reflektion kring resan?!! Så mina damer och herrar, låt er lugnas, det där var exakt min tanke.

Förutom alla lärdomar jag fått utifrån resultaten från mitt eget och alla andras gymnasiearbeten, samt de insiktsfulla människor vi fick nöjet att träffa i Tanzania har resan för mig även inneburit att jag blivit en bättre problemlösare. Just problemlösning har varit en förutsättning för att kunna genomföra gymnasiearbetet på det sätt vi gjort. Det vill säga med ganska begränsade tekniska medel, lite förhandsinformation om intervjuobjekt/studiebesök samt förekomsten av snabba och oväntade förändringar under genomförandet.

Jag slår vad om att varenda kotte kommer att ta upp detta (fast jag vill också vara mainstream), men ett av de mest minnesvärda avtrycken från resan var såklart mottagandet den första dagen. Generellt var gästvänligheten hos tanzanierna storartad. Ett annat särskilt minne var hur alla ville att vi skulle skriva in våra namn och kontaktuppgifter i en gästbok på varje ställe vi besökte.

Jag vet att jag är naturvetare så detta borde inte fascinera mig så värst men ett tredje intryck för mig var månens vridning i Tanzania. Egentligen är det en självklarhet att månen ser annorlunda ut beroende på var man befinner sig på jorden men att se den i form av en skål och inte en skära som hemma var ganska coolt.

Egentligen har jag inte så många förbättringar att komma med inför nästa resa men en tanke jag haft har varit att det kanske kunde ha varit bra om vi fått information om behovet av öronproppar inför besöket på sockerfabriken.

Ett sista XOXO från Lovisa :))

Reflektioner och tankar - Erik

Hej! Nu när det har gått några månader sedan resan så kan jag konstatera att det är många minnen som finns kvar. De minnen som är starkast är nog fortfarande alla fantastiska möten med människorna från skolan, det kändes väldigt speciellt. Miljön och landskapet var även det en ny och häftig upplevelse som var lite förvånande med tanke på den uppfattning jag hade om hur det skulle se ut innan resan. Bland annat de långa bilresorna gjorde att man fick se mycket av landet och naturen, men jag ser även att det skulle vara intressant att utforska mer runt området vi vistades i (det är ju ändå den afrikanska vildmarken;)) ). En viktig erfarenhet av resan som jag har tagit med mig, är den bredare bilden som jag har fått av hur människor lever i den delen av världen, vilket i sin tur har gett mig ett nytt perspektiv att se på min egen vardag här i Sverige. Resan till Tanzania har som sagt varit väldigt speciell och kommer absolut vara ett minne för livet. //Erik

Diploma Project Summary - Linus

Water Purification Project

The purpose of this study was to examine if it is possible to purify water from microbes using simple means like PET-bottles and sunlight energy. The water was collected from water sources in Tanzania. At the same time, the water supply and water quality at Hekima Girls Secondary School was investigated as well as in Tanzania and the Kagera region. My main two questions were: “is it possible to purify water from microbes with help from sunlight?” and “can one build a cheap solar powered ozone generator for water purification?”. The methods that were used in this study were specifically picked in purpose of purifying water with solar disinfection and ozone. Both methods were initiated by filling PET-bottles (600ml and 1.5L) with water from nearby water sources like Lake Victoria and the stream by the school. Subsequently one was placed in the sunlight for 5h while the other was placed in the shadow for 40 min. A solar panel was giving electricity to an ozone generator that pumped ozone (50-100 mg/h) down the bottle that was placed in the shadow. Moreover, samples were taken in intervals and put on agar plates to study the assumed decrease in bacteria growth during the purification process. Temperature and UV radiation was also measured.

My hypothesis for the experiments was that ozone purification would be much more efficient than purifying with the help of direct sunlight. Ozone is a reactive gas which is widely used in the aquarium world, reduced the need to maintain their aquariums so often from algae and bacteria. I also believed that the sunlight would kill the bacteria and that both methods would work for water purification. After sunlight or the ozone treatment, the water could be stored in the PET bottle for example in a ground cellar or come to direct use. That a 10 W solar cell could run an ozone generator, I assumed was possible, since Tanzania has a lot of intense sunlight exposure.

For sunlight purification, I would recommend at least 6h of continuous exposure in the sun as there was still little growth in the 600ml PET bottle after 5h of UVA radiation, especially when taking water from a source with high bacterial activity. 6h of continuous UV exposure in the sun is what "Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology" recommends. The same applies for a 1.5 L bottle. The result of sunlight purification of water from Lake Victoria shows that, although the bacterial content went down after 2-3 h of exposure to UV light, the bacteria regrew in the warm water. This happened due to slightly less sunny conditions towards evening. Therefore, it is probably best to expose the water in the sun from morning to afternoon to ensure as high UV radiation as possible, while UV peak hours are around noon.

Sunlight purification with UV radiation is nothing I can fully recommend because it is still very easy for bacteria to grow in the warm water. It is therefore difficult to guarantee a 100% sterilization of the water.

My experiments show, that ozone is very toxic and the treatment time is thus very short when you want to purify water. 40 minutes of continuous ozone feed was required to get a decrease in bacterial activity. Ozone must also be generated in place as it is very reactive and disappears within a very short time interval. However, this can be seen as a disadvantage since ozone is not suitable for long-term treatment of water, for example, in water pipes. In addition, ozone did not kill eggs or larvae during my treatment which resulted in some agar plates containing larvae, which may mean that a filtration process would have been necessary before ozone treatment.

In summary the results of the experiments show that it is possible to purify water by lowering the bacterial content, using the sun's UV radiation for 5 hours and by using ozone for 40 minutes. My attempts, on the other hand, did not achieve drinking water quality. In order to accomplish such a result, one would probably need to combine my purification methods with some form of filtration and give the experiments longer time to treat the water.

Diploma Project Summary - Lovisa

Even though about a forth of the world's population are bleeding through their bodies once a month, menstruation is one of the most taboo and shameful topics in the world. In addition to the stigma surrounding menstruation, and the anxiety these days might imply for the individual,  disadvantageous circumstances for women to get their period might lead to devastating physical issues. Consequently, the purpose of this report was to illustrate the conditions adolescents and women in Sweden and Tanzania have to take care of their bodies during their period, and what consequences these circumstances might bring, with a focal point on physical issues, hygiene, social stigmas, health, and education.

The ambition was to collect as much information as needed to be able to make a comparative analysis between the two countries where similarities and differences would be discussed. The study was mainly carried out as a field study since the material gathering of the research was based on personal interviews, group discussions, and surveys. Additionally, literary studies was implemented.

The questions at issue were following:
- How does the situation look like in Tanzania, and what are the conditions tanzanian women have to take care of their bodies during their period?
- What consequences, with a focal point on physical issues, hygiene, social stigmas, health, and education, might these circumstances bring?
- How does female genital mutilation affect menstruation, and what consequences can it generate?
- How does the situation look like in comparison to Sweden’s?

Furthermore, the results show that physical consequences caused by incorrect menstrual care cover diseases like hepatitis B, TSS, PID, endometriosis, candida vaginitis, infertility, allergies and urinary infection.

The stigma surrounding periods causes secrecy, isolation, social alienation, negatively affected studies, taunts, humiliation and disgrace. On the other hand, the absence of a menstrual cycle might also induce shaming because of the reason that the woman is lacking the ability to get with child. Poor and insufficient sexual education leads to that myths surrounding menstruation continues to spread, and to inadequate handling of menstrual hygiene. Both of these factors can be hazardous.
Except for the psychological damage female genital mutilation creates through the trauma the violation causes, it also generates great physical consequences. Complications that might emerge during menstruation for women that have been circumcised incorporates dysmenorrhea, increased risk of infections, longer menstrual period, elevated pain around the vaginal vestibule, anxiety, irregular periods, and changed blood flow.

Moreover, tanzanian women often lack the access to safe places where they can take care of their period. This in combination with the absence of functioning sanitary pads affects their education, health and future. Because of aspects like poor financial status, education, and stronger cultural attitudes the most exposed group in Tanzania are the people living in rural areas. Both concerning the risk of getting diseases, having worse conditions to take care of their period, consequences of stronger taboos, and affected education. Even though bad menstrual hygiene has a great connection to the educational level achieved, it is not necessarily caused by poor financial circumstances.  Some argue that the action of giving out free sanitary pads should be prioritized in order to solve issues connected to bad menstrual health.  The dilemma with this is that it in some cases does not generate a solution if women still are unaware about how the sanitary products should be used, and how they are supposed to keep themselves properly clean.

By that means, the most important components to avoid bad menstrual health are following:
- Suitable sanitary products (no matter if they are handmade or commercial)
- Correct hygiene

In most cases these requirements are easy to meet, even with small economical means, as long as you got the knowledge behind it. Consequently, education comes before material supplies.
Thus, the most essential way to enforce a change, and give tanzanian women a better life standard, is though increased awareness about bad menstrual hygiene, and knowledge about how consequences can be prevented.

In conclusion, the current situation in Tanzania is of greater complexity than what was portrayed in previous research. Based on class, living area and ethnicity, the conditions women have to take care of their bodies during menstruation differ. Although disadvantageous conditions are mainly rooted in economics, the most effective solution fighting dangerous consequences of improper menstrual hygiene lies in proper education.

Diploma Project Summary - Erik

In my project I had mainly two questions to be covered. The first one is about the current status on the energy supply in the area, where the goal was to get a wider view of the extent of the grid.
The other question covered was about how to make the school self-sufficient on electrical energy by using solar power. By doing this I would also examine the possibilities to apply the same solution on other buildings, equal to the school.

Solar Power
Solar energy is a powerful energy source with quite easy access. This makes it particularly beneficial for smaller independent energy systems, like the one I investigated. Furthermore the geographical position of the school has a high solar radiation with a yearly total of 1600 kWh/m2. This can be compared to Sweden which has a lower average of about 900 kWh/m2/year.

Methods used:
In my project I mainly used two methods to acquire the information. The first and most used method was interviews. During the trip to Tanzania I got the opportunity to interview personnel in the school regarding their energy usage etc, private solar companies on their products and personnel from energy authorities regarding the public electrical grid.

Ultraviolet radiation- measurements:
The measurements that I carried out on the school campus was on a specific solar radiation called ultraviolet radiation. The ultraviolet radiation only represents a small portion of the whole solar radiation that reaches earth so therefore I had to recount my results using proportionate method in my calculations.

Results:
As for the energy consumption in the school it turned out that it had a usage of about 8,5 kWh/day. This number can be compared to the average Swedish house which consumes somewhere around 55 kWh/day in average, or over six times more than the school. For the electricity from the public grid, the school payed 352 tanzanian shilling or about 1,4 sek per kWh.
The measurements gave the result of a theoretical efficiency of approximately 10W/m2. But that is only on a specific ultraviolet radiation and not the whole spectrum of solar radiation.

Electrical Grid:
In the province of Kagera, the energy authorities are importing the electricity from its neighbouring country, Uganda. The energy from Uganda is generated by hydro power plants, thus making it sustainable energy. It also showed that the energy authorities in Tanzania are planning on building large hydro power plants in the country and an energy supply consisting of only renewable energy.
Another project concerning my survey was the consisting program runned by the Rural Energy Agency. Last year this agency supplied 6500 villages in Tanzania with electricity and it is aiming to supply an equal amount this year.

Discussion:
Considering that I only measured a fraction of the total solar radiation, I had to make some calculations and finally got the result of an average solar radiation of 2 kWh/m2 per day in the school. But this number still differed from the theoretical solar radiation of 4,5 kWh/m2 per day, and this can be explained for example by inaccuracy in used equipment or inconsistency in weather and ozone layer. To get the most accurate result I went to use the theoretical number on the solar radiation on the school and used that in the calculations on the solar power system.
With the solar panels I presumed that the solar cells has an efficiency of 20%. This means that 20% of the solar energy is converted to electrical energy. This gives a theoretical daily energy conversion of 0,9 kWh/m2/day for the solar energy system.
In my calculations I also had to take in consideration that the weather could be unfavorable for a longer period of time, which would mean that more solar panels would be needed to cover the demand. Furthermore I also had to take in consideration that all the solar panels will not be fully active during all sun hours since they are placed in a fixed position. With these factors in consider, the school would need about 38 m2 of solar panels to cover its demand on electricity. To be able to supply electricity during night time, I have used a external battery in my calculations, capable of storing 13,5 kWh. A solar energy system like this, would have the capability of providing at least 17 kWh/day, which is double the amount of the usage the school has today.

Conclusion:
My conclusion on this project is that it is clearly visible that Tanzania has a great ambition on providing its whole people with electricity, and this is something that is confirmed by the large scale energy projects that is being planned and built in the country. When it comes to the school, a fully supplying solar energy system is possible and would be beneficial for the school in the long run by erasing all future energy costs and making it independent from the public grid. Though this requires an investment of at least 200 000 sek (approx. 21 000 USD), so to make this profitable for the school, it would probably need external financing, presumably from an aid organisation.