King George VI Centre was recently hit by lightning and lost an estimated value of over usd$2000 worth of equipment in damages. The lightning which hit the computer systems and maintenance equipment is suspected to have struck around 27 December 2022 when all our kids and staff were on holiday. Maintenance Personnel Wisdom Nyamande said that the lightning struck the security alarm system first because of the receivers. From there it spread out.
“The security box creates waves that attract lightning. Unfortunately, this system uses the same line of power with the solar system and everything else that was connected to the solar system was struck. This is a heavy blow to a start of the term,” said Mr Nyamande.
Due to the lightning strike, KGVI lost the Internet Access point; two LAN switches; UPS (uninterrupted power supply); and the Mikrotik Router. This affected the internet connectivity at the offices.
On the maintenance side, two solar panels were struck, and the solar inverter was destroyed. The Security Alarm Controller also was hit. PaBX for the telephones was affected and seven LED solar lights were destroyed.
Projects and Advocacy Officer Precious Ncube said that the unfortunate incident costed KGVI an enormous amount of over USD$2000 in damages.
“We have so far only managed to replace a few essential stuffs such as the IT material to enable our day-to-day interaction with the outside world, but for the rest of the things, we are at a standstill.
As an organisation, we are appealing to well-wishers and friends of KGVI to hold our hand as we go through such a difficult ordeal,” said Precious.
This comes as the country has been experiencing extremely heavy rainfall characterized by lightning. Between December last year, and early this January, the country has received rainfall of up to 50mm in a single day.
As a result of the incident, the electricity bill has skyrocketed. This is because the Kitchen area, Computers and Garden equipment which were being powered by Solar are now using electricity.
Efforts to get the solar system up and running are underway. We are working tirelessly to control the situation in order to retain the conducive environment for both the staff and the children.
“It takes courage to walk through the storm. But if you have someone to tell and cry to, you’ll find that it was worth it. You will never walk alone.”
– Anonymous writer.