Recently, the China-aided Mali Solar Energy Demonstration Village Project undertaken by China Geo-Engineering Group Co., Ltd. passed the completion acceptance in the villages of Marikoniobra and Karan. A total of 1,195 sets of off-grid solar household systems, 200 sets of solar street lighting systems, 17 sets of solar water pump systems, and 2 sets of concentrated solar power supply systems were installed in this project, directly benefiting tens of thousands of local people.

Seeing the newly built street lamps and water towers in the village, Jean Doumbia, the head of Koniobla Village in Mari Koniobla, couldn't hide his excitement and joy. He no longer has to worry about drinking water and electricity. Thank you Chinese friends for helping Build power stations, install lights, and drill wells.

Mali, a West African country, has always been short of power resources, and the rural electricity access rate is less than 20%. The village of Koniobra is located in the southeast of the capital Bamako. There is almost no power supply in the village. The villagers can only rely on a few hand-pressed wells for water, and spend a long time queuing up to get water every day.

In the past, there was no electricity in the village, and there was often a lack of water in the dry season. Everyone’s life was very inconvenient. We have always been eager to live a modern life as soon as possible. Jean Doumbia, a villager in Koniobra Village, introduced.

Pan Zhaoligang, an employee of the China Geological Project, said that when he first arrived, most of the villagers still lived a traditional life of slash-and-burn farming. At night, the village was dark and quiet, and almost no one came out to walk around.

In April 2022, the solar energy demonstration village project was completed in two villages, and passed the completion acceptance in early May, bringing light and hope to the local villagers. After the completion of the project, the dark village at night has street lights along the street, and villagers no longer need flashlights when going out; small shops that open at night also appear at the entrance of the village, and warm lights are lit in the simple houses; mobile phone charging no longer needs to be searched all over the village A place where you can temporarily charge, some people bought a TV.

Diop, a villager, said excitedly that now after dinner, he would go for a walk and chat on the brightly lit streets, and some families would drink tea while watching TV under the lights in the courtyard, which enhanced the mutual feelings of the villagers. Not only that, villagers also began to enjoy the automatic pumping water towers with free electricity provided by solar energy. Diop said that without China's generous assistance, it is impossible to imagine when it would be possible to equip the home with such advanced new energy equipment. Now the water supply and power supply systems are all running automatically, and you can use free and convenient water and electricity at any time, which is simply too convenient.

Yamoudou Keita, the elderly head of Karan Village, said at the villagers’ symposium organized by the project that everyone should cherish the true gift from China, and every household should carefully use and maintain photovoltaic equipment so that The friendship between China and Malaysia has blossomed.

According to reports, the project is another practical measure to promote clean energy in the field of people's livelihood and share green development experience, and it has practical significance in helping Mali take the road of green and sustainable development. Zhao Yongqing, the project manager of the solar demonstration village, has been working in Africa for more than ten years. He said that the small and beautiful solar photovoltaic demonstration project, which benefits people's livelihood and has quick results, not only meets the actual needs of Mali to improve the construction of rural supporting facilities, but also conforms to the The local people have been yearning for a happy life for a long time.

Souleymane BERTHE, director of the Mali Renewable Energy Agency, said that advanced photovoltaic technology is crucial to Mali's response to climate change and improvement of rural people's livelihood. The China-aided solar energy demonstration village project in Mali is a very meaningful practice of applying photovoltaic technology to explore and improve people's livelihood in remote and backward villages.

Amadou Doumbia, a local employee hired by the project department in the village of Koniobra, often hums the Mali national anthem "For Africa and For You, Mali" in his spare time. When the project was completed and parted, he said to his Chinese friends: I hope that Mali, China and every country in the world will be like the one described in the national anthem. From today to tomorrow, the flowers of hope will bloom all over the earth, and everyone will be full of confidence and courage. Editor/He Yuting