Think this is tough? Try Uganda

In the aftermath of the power outages in Sharjah, our reporter Yasin Kakande gives a first person's account of his childhood back home.

SHARJAH // It wasn't that hard to live without electricity at home. At least not for me. My home village in Uganda, where I go each year on vacation, has no power of any kind. I sleep when it's dark and wake up when there is light. The recent power outages in Sharjah reminded me of my childhood village. It made my Nabba home a sanctuary, in which I could think about what I wanted in peace, with no distractions. For the first time in the five years I have lived in the UAE I was able to sleep without the whirling of a computer fan or air conditioners in the background. It felt extremely peaceful to lie there, completely unstressed.

It was hot, but I could take three showers every half an hour and feel fine. Taking a shower in complete darkness is an interesting experience. It makes almost no difference whether I can see anything during the process. Another interesting thing I noticed is that it felt perfectly natural, even though I couldn't see anything. However, it felt really weird when I closed my eyes, like I was going to stumble. There was a bit of a cultural difference when it came to candles. Those I had grown up using were crafted in small sheets and powered with paraffin. The candles here are made of wax and melted quickly, but gave off about the same amount of light as the ones I used as a child. @Email:[e-mail]

SHARJAH // Two young Emiratis died when their vehicle overturned in an area where neither the streetlights nor traffic signals were working because of power cuts. The men, 22 and 19, were in a Toyota FJ Cruiser that hit a kerb and rolled over twice at the Kuwait roundabout. The accident happened at around 9.30pm on Wednesday. Emergency services arrived within five minutes but the men were found to be dead at the scene. Their bodies were taken to Kuwait Hospital.