It’s day two without electricity in the Mohale household. At 19:00 on a summer afternoon, the house feels dark and grim. The little 6-year-old Tsepo is on the brink of tears, grappling with the existential crisis of having to entertain himself without his tablet. And while Tsepo’s father dodged the dark ages at his house by being at work, the sleep-deprived mother strives to lull the baby to sleep, lacking the usual hum of the TV, instead, serenaded by the cacophony of crickets outside. 

Most of us can relate to the frustrations faced by the Mohale family every now and then. Having completely grown accustomed to living with electricity, to most, even a day without electricity feels like a devastating deprivation of one’s fundamental right to an essential resource. Ironically, in one district, Mokhotlong, Senqu Anglican Church of Lesotho (ACL) Primary School recently marked a historic occasion, the reception of electricity for the first time since the school’s establishment in 1952, a staggering 72 years ago.

Located in Likhang village, in the remote highlands of Lesotho, Mokhotlong, Senqu ACL Primary School of 122 students witnessed a transformative event in August 2023. The flickering of lights, the hum of electrical currents, and the dawn of a new era. This has been a development for them that goes beyond mere infrastructure; it signifies a beacon of hope, progress and untapped potential.

With all the remarkable technological advancements today, it feels unreal that there are places of paramount significance, such as schools, tasked with nurturing the brilliant young minds, potential future leaders, that still do not have access to electricity in 2024.

Living without electricity in Lesotho is not necessarily a sign of poverty, it is simply a way of life and an everyday reality for many young people residing in the highland areas of Lesotho, where the mountainous terrain poses significant challenges for accessing electricity.

Lesotho is a mountainous country, where 80 percent of it is situated at an altitude of 1,800 meters or higher, making it the only country entirely above 1,000 meters. Lesotho’s landscape is characterized by rugged mountains, constituting more than two-thirds of its terrain, with steep slopes prevalent throughout. 

It is a small, lower-middle class, mainly rural country with a population of about 2.2 million people, of whom more than 99 percent are ethnic Basotho. Most people live in rural areas, and it is projected that even by 2024, the urban population will only have grown at most to 40 percent.

According to the school’s Acting Principal Madam ‘Matebello Thuhlo, the school’s journey to electricity was a joint community endeavor. In the past, the school depended on solar panels from the village. However, they proved to be unreliable, especially during cloudy weather, when the panels struggled to harness solar power consistently. 

“When LEC came here, it showed us that it can connect us to electricity. They told us that they will connect every room with 1000 Maloti and that is when we appealed to the parents that responded positively and agreed that every family should contribute 50 Maloti for the school to also be connected to the grid.” 

Previously, the Teachers faced the challenge of charging their phones in the village. The phones are crucial to them and the students, as they are used to display internet images for lessons. Some of these images include pictures of computers since the school does not have computers, and most students are not exposed to computers at least until they reach High School. 

According to the World Bank data, the availability of electricity in Lesotho has been gradually increasing over the past years. Currently, 50.4 percent of the population has access to electricity, primarily in urban regions. And in rural areas, the accessibility to electricity has risen to 37.7 percent. 

In discussing the impact of electricity on the school’s learning environment, Madam Thuhlo shared that it has improved teaching and learning in their classrooms. Now they charge their phones, enabling teachers to search for answers on the internet to tackle student’s challenging questions. Additionally, the school provides charging services for the parents’ and students’ phones, which they can then use for their school work. 

Lerato (13) and Motluli (15) were students at ACL Senqu Primary when interviewed in November 2023. Lerato, despite living without electricity at home, dreams of becoming a nurse, while Motluli, who had electricity at the time, aspired to be a policeman.

With electricity now at school, Motluli expresses a wish for the school to provide hands-on skills training, like carpentry and welding, with the support of a dedicated teacher and the necessary power tools. 

Lesotho Electricity and Water Authority (LEWA), a regulatory body charged with regulating and ensuring the efficiency, reliability and sustainability of electricity and water services in Lesotho acknowledges the role of access to electricity in children’s education, enabling access to electronic devices like computers and mobile phones for information, but emphasizes the considerable financial resources that are needed on infrastructure development in remote locations, far from the existing grid.

According to Sebusi Khanyela, LEWA Public Relations Officer, although the authority wishes to increase accessibility to electricity in Lesotho, against the geographical challenges, its role is limited to the Universal Access Fund (UAF) and the issuance of licenses to potential businesses that have an investment drive in renewable energy, such as OnePower, NEO 1 and Sotho Minigrids SPV Portfolio. 

One may view this down as a solid response, while another may perceive it as an attempt shifting blame. The critical question emerges: has there been adequate effort in terms of innovation and sustainability? What role have the people played in shaping decisions and policies regarding electricity-related issues? It seems that the crucial challenge lies in how the government will find the balance between prioritizing access and ensuring affordability. Must we wait another decade before witnessing the lighting of bulbs in the classrooms across schools? 

It is, however, equally important to recognize and commend the resilience and the collaborative spirit of communities striving for a brighter future despite real challenges. The story of Senqu ACL Primary School, one of many, serves as a reminder that Lesotho still has progress to make, and that it can be done as the nation pursues the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7: “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.”