Thika church youths develop automated spray booth to fight COVID-19
In readiness for the possible re-opening of churches in the country, a group of youths have devised a spray booth to help fight against deadly Covid-19 whose infection figures have continued to soar in the country.
The youngsters from Rev Ngoima PCEA church in Thika, Kiambu County used locally available materials to develop the spraying machine with a motive to combat the contagious virus in churches should the government re-open the places of worship.
The machine has the capacity to fumigate an individual’s whole body from head to the feet without necessarily moistening their clothes.
Fitted with sensors, pipes that have 18 nozzles and a motor which is fixed to a water container filled with a disinfectant, the automated booth machine uses electricity to run. It is developed in a way that it can also be powered by solar energy.
It works similarly to the public spray booths installed in major cities such as Nairobi and Mombasa. It senses the entrance of an individual for the spray exercise and immediately stops to springle once the subject leaves.
The youths led by Erick Ng’ang’a said they came up with the innovation after witnessing the inconvenience that Kenyans continue to go through while at public areas such as markets, hospitals, supermarkets and police stations.
“If we get enough money we are able to make more spray booths that can be placed at the entrance of all public areas including churches,” Ng’ang’a said and added that they used Sh 138,000 to come up with the invention which takes three days to assemble.
Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina who paid the group a visit and inspect the discovery maintained that there was no need for the government to import such machines in future because it has been proved they can be developed and installed locally.
Wainaina noted that Kenyans have shown they have the capacity to come up with solutions to problems around them through such innovations. He promised to sponsor the young innovators.
The discovery, he said, comes even before the enactment of the SMEs Amendment Bill 2018 that he has sponsored in parliament and which aims at locking out cheap imports.
“Our youth should be encouraged to come up with innovative ways to create employment and also solve some of the challenges we are facing as a country. For this reason I have made an order for one similar booth which will be installed in the Thika main matatu stage,” Wainaina said.
This comes as the government has pledged support for local innovators through formulation of post-Covid-19 policies to source and protect local innovations.
Chief Administrative Secretary in charge of Industry, Trade and Enterprise Development Lawrence Karanja said the government is doing everything possible to ensure that innovations made to combat Covid-19 pandemic do not go to waste even after the virus is defeated.
Karanja who was inspecting similar innovations at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology recently said that since the outbreak of the contagious virus, the country has re-discovered its capacity in terms of research and innovation.
