{"id":435563,"date":"2022-04-21T21:45:40","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T18:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/nun-in-congo-overcomes-blackouts-with-homemade-hydroelectric-plant\/"},"modified":"2022-04-21T21:45:40","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T18:45:40","slug":"nun-in-congo-overcomes-blackouts-with-homemade-hydroelectric-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/nun-in-congo-overcomes-blackouts-with-homemade-hydroelectric-plant\/","title":{"rendered":"#Nun in Congo overcomes blackouts with homemade hydroelectric plant"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4302661cccf\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4302661cccf\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/nun-in-congo-overcomes-blackouts-with-homemade-hydroelectric-plant\/#%E2%80%9CNun_in_Congo_overcomes_blackouts_with_homemade_hydroelectric_plant%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Nun in Congo overcomes blackouts with homemade hydroelectric plant&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CNun_in_Congo_overcomes_blackouts_with_homemade_hydroelectric_plant%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Nun in Congo overcomes blackouts with homemade hydroelectric plant&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>MITI, Democratic Republic of Congo, April 20 \u2013 Sister Alphonsine Ciza spends most of her day in gum boots, white veil tucked under a builder\u2019s hat, manning the micro-hydroelectric plant she built to overcome daily electricity cuts in her town of Miti in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.<\/p>\n<p>She works around the clock with a team of nuns and engineers, greasing machinery and checking the dials of a generator that is fed from a nearby reservoir and lights up a convent, church, two schools and a clinic free of charge.<\/p>\n<p>Without the plant, residents would only have electricity two or three days a week for a few hours.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe sisters\u2026 cannot function this way because we have to provide a lot of services,\u201d said Ciza, 55, a portable voltage meter slung around her neck in the town of about 300,000 inhabitants near the border with Rwanda.<\/p>\n<p>Blackouts are a daily disruption in the Congo, a vast central African country of around 90 million people that sources most of its electricity from a run-down and mismanaged hydropower system.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"739\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/congo-nun-overcomes-blackouts-homemade-hydroelectric-plant-04.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Ciza controls the filter level of the water basin of the canal at her micro hydropower plant.\" class=\"wp-image-21989411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/congo-nun-overcomes-blackouts-homemade-hydroelectric-plant-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/congo-nun-overcomes-blackouts-homemade-hydroelectric-plant-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/congo-nun-overcomes-blackouts-homemade-hydroelectric-plant-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Ciza controls the filter level of the water basin of the canal at her micro hydropower plant.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Reuters<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The government has worked with foreign partners in an effort to increase the capacity of the mineral-rich nation\u2019s ailing grid. Critics say the new projects focus too much on powering mines and exporting electricity to neighboring countries.<\/p>\n<p>Despite millions of dollars in donor funding, only around 20% of the population has access to electricity, according to the World Bank.<\/p>\n<p>Fed up with relying on candlelight and costly fuel-powered generators, Ciza started raising money in 2015 to build the hydropower plant.<\/p>\n<p>She picked up skills as a young nun, repairing electrical faults around the convent, which convinced superiors to send her to study mechanical engineering.<\/p>\n<p>It took Ciza\u2019s convent three years to gather the required $297,000 and build the plant, which generates between 0.05 and 0.1 MW.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"776\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/congo-nun-overcomes-blackouts-homemade-hydroelectric-plant-02.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Ciza turns the wheel of the mechanical regulator of the turbine at her micro hydropower plant.\" class=\"wp-image-21989469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/congo-nun-overcomes-blackouts-homemade-hydroelectric-plant-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/congo-nun-overcomes-blackouts-homemade-hydroelectric-plant-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/congo-nun-overcomes-blackouts-homemade-hydroelectric-plant-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Ciza turns the wheel of the mechanical regulator of the turbine at her micro hydropower plant.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Reuters<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Thanks to Ciza\u2019s efforts, students at Miti\u2019s Maendeleo secondary school can now learn computer skills from screens rather than from books.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPreviously, power often only came on at night, when children were no longer in school,\u201d said headmistress Mweze Nsimire Gilberte.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHaving our own turbine has been a great relief.\u201d\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/21\/nun-in-congo-overcomes-blackouts-with-homemade-hydroelectric-plant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Nun in Congo overcomes blackouts with homemade hydroelectric plant&#8221; MITI, Democratic Republic of Congo, April 20 \u2013 Sister Alphonsine Ciza spends most of her day in gum boots, white veil tucked under a builder\u2019s hat, manning the micro-hydroelectric plant she built to overcome daily electricity cuts in her town of Miti in eastern Democratic Republic&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":435564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/congo-nun-overcomes-blackouts-homemade-hydroelectric-plant-05.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[74871,128270,70752,75704,81230,10546],"class_list":["post-435563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-electricity","tag-4-21-22","tag-energy","tag-engineering","tag-nuns","tag-power"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}