7.+Scenarios


 * SCENARIOS**

Scenario 1:

In developing nations like South Africa, water fetching is a routine activity. Water fetching is usually a task that is designated towards women, and often times they are required to walk for miles on end. Imagine a middle-aged mother having to walk for more than six hours every day, just to collect a sufficient amount of water for her family. Walking towards the water source is already a feat in itself, but she must also endure the burden of carrying 20 liters of water on her way back. After water fetching for years, her body has built up massive amounts of stress and she is now at risk for a number of severe health implications. Yet every day, she is continually forced to go through such an incredibly exhausting and time consuming task, simply because she has no other choice. The nearest water source to her home is more than ten miles away, and her only option to reach the source is by foot. Her family can neither afford a car or a bicycle, and her area is far too impoverished to even consider implementing any sort of public transportation system.

Information Source: []

Scenario 2:

The lack of energy is one of the many challenges Africa seeks to overcome. The absence of energy leads to social and environmental consequences, such as no effective lighting. Though firewood, crop residues, kerosine lamps or charcoal can solve the issue of lighting, the light it produces are not strong enough and the smoke produced from them results in high incidences of respiratory diseases. Attaining firewood also requires many hours invested from women and girls, and in addition cause deforestation from cutting down trees. Using these means to obtain a light source does not only cause health problems, it also harms the environment.

Source: [|http://][|assets.panda.org/downloads/**africa**hydropowerreport2006.pdf]

Scenario 3:

In some Ethiopian villages, the sun sets early. Sunlight is very critical in Africa, since it affects the education in many children. Many children lose the opportunity of attending school because school hours occur during the day. Since the sun is typically out during this time, many children sacrifice their education to walk for hours towards a water source to gather and bring home for their families. Even for those that do attend classes, the lack of light during the night time meant studying could not be done.

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Scenario 4:

Since many people in Africa have cell phones, they can attach their cell phone to the bike to charge. This way they save on electricity costs and can put their money into something else. Or if their cell phone suddenly runs out of battery, but they need to make an important call for business reasons they can charge their phone right away while heading towards their destination.

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Scenario 5:

Consider our CycleCharge solution, once implemented, taking ground. A few towns and villages are using the service and transportation is easily accessible, and electricity contained in batteries is increasingly available. An important issue regarding safety in Africa is traffic accidents. In South Africa, many accidents happen at night, where road hazards are hidden, low visibility impedes reaction time, and depth and color perception is altered. Charged battery units may be fitted to street lights to light up roads. Efficient LED lights can be installed at a lower price because wiring and connecting to an energy grid may be circumvented by relying on reusable battery power. This will increase traffic safety at night for roads that are not very well lit up, or that lack lighting all together. This may reduce traffic accidents and help improve driving safety, as well as the overall happiness and confidence of particular communities.

Reference: Arive Alive.za. "Driving at Night". 2011. 