Despite being a low emitter of dangerous gasses, global warming in Africa is certainly evident and cannot be ignored. Our summers stretch over long periods of time and winters have become short. It is predicted that temperatures will rise by between 0.5 and 2 degrees Celsius by 2030.People living in rural areas are both the major contributors and the victims of this boiling epidemic. People in rural areas are known for their deforestation through cutting down of trees and wild fires. Still they are at a greater position of leading themselves out of poverty. The agent of this transformation is Solar Energy.

Solar energy is a renewable form of energy that uses the sun as its source. The total solar energy absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land masses is approximately 3,850,000 exajoules (EJ) per year. Only a small fraction of this actually used. Solar Energy goes beyond just having environmental benefits – but also provides socio-economic, technological and educational benefits for youth living in rural areas.

Farmers, entrepreneurs, teachers and other workers in rural communities are at hardship because of the unreliable, unevenly distributed and expensive electricity. Social energy, therefore, is the missing link that can help develop rural enterprises. Although they may be expensive to buy, their benefits after installation far outweigh their drawbacks. Maintenance costs are next to nothing and they are durable.

An acceleration of the growth point in rural area will be noted since electricity is readily available. Shops, clinics, schools, IT centers etc. would instantly bloom.

A young lady living in a rural town of midlands currently wakes up in the morning and walks about two kilometers in search of firewood. When she returns three hours later, harvests vegetables at the garden then begins to cook with that firewood. She does this on a daily basis. When does she have time to do her own things? When will she be able to go to school just like her counterpart living in the city? She finds herself living in a marginalized community (rural area) and a member of a marginalized group (women). As such solar energy will play an important role in reversing these social structures and insure that women spend little time doing house chores and running their own businesses.

The problem in Africa and most developing countries is that the government own and control the supply of electricity to its citizens. This means that provision of this commodity is directly affected by politics in that country. The government owned body is most likely to do things at its own time at their free will.

However if there were private players available to sell and distribute power to citizens there would be competition. Competition would improve the quality, reduce the costs and reduce dependency on one supplier.

Privatization of the power industry is far from being realized. However if citizens own their own solar system, there is no worry when politics is unstable. Most governments are afraid to lose this power over their citizens as electricity is used as a pawn in their political games.

A local organisation which I have formed acquaintance with, Watanga Foundation, is playing its part in bringing solar energy to households in Zimbabwe. Through its 'solar rally' it hopes to empower youth, especially those in rural areas with this reliable energy new to the African continent.