Umeme. Electricity.

Umeme = electricity. It is shida kabisa, a complete problem. 

Enjoying candlelight dinners. Love it.  

We are lucky enough to live in a house with electricity, but this of course means dealing with the power-cuts that are routine in this part of the world. There is usually some kind of cut every day, ranging from 1 hour to 15+ hours per day. Candlelight dinners, bucket showers, no TV… can be fun until the novelty wears off!

The longest we went without any power was 8 days. In the 4 months prior to elections there was only a couple of hour’s power per day, usually in the middle of the night. I loved hearing stories of people getting up at 2am to doing their ironing! The real reasons behind power cuts are fairly elusive, and include political control of communication to companies that own hydro-dams wanting to sell more generators!

Power cuts are of course disruptive for everyone, but having the added stress of life-saving medication that must be refrigerated adds another dimension. The first power cut we experienced I rushed around, checked with the neighbours about who to call, asked how long it usually takes to come back… Basically an all-round panic over my insulin. As I realised how common-place these cuts are here, we developed a range of strategies to keep my insulin at a reasonable temperature. Let’s just say my standards for what qualifies as “refrigerated” have undergone quite a transformation.

So tonight, I request that you enjoy your lights on demand for me.

See here for my tips to keep insulin cool with limited electricity.