Mark Ziegler of Cuivre River Electric Co-op, Inc., and Sudanese lineman Hakim James.
They pack like they’re headed out on a typical mutual aid restoration trip, but more likely than not, when they return, their well-used tools, protective gear and uniforms won’t be in their luggage.
That’s just one thing that makes volunteering for an NRECA International Foundation mission unique for the co-op personnel who take on the challenge.
“I wanted to do my part to help bring electricity to people who’ve never had it,” said Bobby Ball, a lineman with Valley Electric Association, Pahrump, Nev., one of six linemen from three co-ops who recently returned from a three-week assignment in southeastern Sudan.
Ball, 33, has four years’ experience as a journeyman lineman, but much of the work he did in the village of Yei required skills he hadn’t used since his apprenticeship days. “There are no bucket trucks, cranes or hoists, so we set a lot of poles by hand and piked them into place.”
During the three weeks, linemen from Cuivre River Electric Cooperative, Troy, Mo., and Boone Electric Cooperative, Columbia, Mo., also helped muscle parts of the community of 55,000 toward a brighter future.
“All we had were the hand tools we took with us and our climbing equipment,” said Cuivre River EC lineman Craig Larkin, 47. “We had to do everything by hand, from digging the holes to carrying the poles.”
Part of the lure for many volunteers is an opportunity to help start or expand a co-op. In many ways, the work can catapult an entire community decades ahead.
“It’s neat seeing a co-op start from the grassroots,” said Mark Ziegler, 45, who has worked as a lineman for Cuivre River for 23 years. “We haven’t piked poles in more than 20 years, but the Sudanese crew has been at it since 2005.”
By the time the American co-op volunteers were done, 40 new poles were strung with line, and the villagers, along with about 150,000 refugees who have fled to the area to escape famine and war, had more than 100 street lights on the system.
“This took us back to the way linemen used to do it when they first started operating electric co-ops at home,” said Jamie Conrow, 31, who has been with Boone Electric Cooperative for 13 years.
When the men returned home, much of the gear they had used was left in Sudan, doubling the Yei co-op’s supply of hand tools and putting all the Sudanese linemen in boots.
“The linemen develop a personal connection with the crews they work with, and they know what they’re leaving will do a lot of good,” said Ingrid Hunsicker, NRECA International Foundation manager.
Interest in missions continues to grow. After sending 18 volunteers to six countries in 2006, 31 volunteers worked 2,900 hours last year. The foundation is active in Sudan, Guatemala, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Philippines and Costa Rica; missions typically last two to three weeks.
“We’re hoping to send more volunteers to continue helping communities get power,” said Hunsicker. “We expect to send at least 40 volunteers this year.”
Reprinted with permission from an article by Derrill Holly in Electric Co-op Today.