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A small college community in Zambia, Africa, continues to expand its electrical power options, thanks in part to Rich Opsata in Luverne.
A year ago in October he loaded a refurbished generator onto a trailer and drove to Orphan Grain Train in Norfolk, Nebraska.
The volunteer logistics organization sent the heavy piece of equipment overseas, and four months later the generator arrived in Africa.
Since then, the diesel-powered unit has supplied more than 2,000 hours of electricity at Ambassador International University campus.
Primarily, the generators power medical equipment at the university’s small medical center.
“I am grateful that I am reasonably good at repairing generators and blessed to be able to help other people,” Opsata said.
Access to electrical power is life-changing and life-saving for an impoverished area that has no reliable access to the national power grid.
“It (the university) is off grid,” Opsata said. “Generators are their only form of electricity.”
Opsata’s involvement with AIU began before the university existed.
First Baptist Church in Luverne, where Opsata is an active member, was asked to provide financial support for three full-time African pastors through the nonprofit group Gospelink.
AIU was organized in 2005 as a place to train the young pastors. Since then, a viable community has grown around the small university.
Opsata first visited Zambia when the fledgling school used a portable generator to power a small chest freezer.
On the day of Opsata’s arrival, the generator quit. “We ate a lot of meat,” he said.
The experience left Opsata thinking, “Someday there has to be a lot better power there.”
The first of three generators Opsata refurbished for the university over the years is still used at the Chifundo Rural Health Center.
At first the center served less than 100 people from the university.
However, a need to serve the surrounding villages grew the clinic’s clientele to 3,000 people a month.
Opsata’s generators supply electricity for all the medical, ophthalmic and dental equipment used to operate the clinic.
Three other generators, which Opsata has also been consulted to get to work properly, allow the lights on the campus to operate.
As the clinic grows and the university expands to offer new medical courses to students, additional electrical sources are needed.
“The third generator is three times as big as the first one,” Opsata said.
Getting the generators ready, however, is challenging.
He’s learned generators need to match the same electrical voltages and frequencies as the medical equipment.
“American-style equipment needs American-style power,” Opsata said.
Each refurbished generator was selected for its operational simplicity with the models containing no excessive computer controls.
At times Opsata had to give operating instructions over the phone or the computer; travel for installation isn’t always feasible.
The latest diesel-powered generator Opsata refurbished can switch between the voltages/frequencies of African and that of the U.S.
With the latest generator, Opsata attached pictures of himself and AIU students on the generator’s sides, which were painted in a bright turquoise color.
Through his prior visits — about 30 trips in 15 years — he’s learned students’ sense of humor and knows color and pictures on the generator are appreciated.
“They are fun people,” he said. “They are extremely interesting.”
One medical center worker, Nebraska native Dr. Marjie Heier, will be the guest speaker for the Luverne First Baptist Church’s Thanksgiving banquet.
Heier was the center’s director when it opened in 2013. She returned to the U.S. this year.
With coronavirus pandemic restrictions on large gatherings, the banquet and Heier’s presentation may be modified. Details will be shared in coming weeks.