This archive report was first published on 8 August 2020.
Kenyan Artisan Creates Life-Saving Innovations Amid Covid-19 Pandemic ¶
Published on August 8, 2020
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread across the globe, a Kenyan artisan has come up with innovative solutions to help combat the crisis. Stanley Ng'ang'a, a 38-year-old artisan from Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, has created a ventilator and a spraying booth using locally available materials and his expertise in diving and spraying.
Ng'ang'a's ventilator, which he says can help health facilities deal with emergency cases, uses natural air and is powered by a 12-volt motorcycle battery. The machine, which weighs 13kg and fits into a stainless steel box, was made using materials worth Sh3,000. Ng'ang'a claims that his ventilator is simple and easy to use, requiring minimal resources to produce, unlike the complex and expensive ventilators found in ICU facilities.
Ng'ang'a's innovation was motivated by the government's admission that hospitals had inadequate intensive care facilities and gadgets to help manage critical Covid-19 patients. He borrowed ideas from diving equipment to come up with the machine that can help save lives. Ng'ang'a has requested the government to send experts to assess his ventilator, then if he gets approval, he can produce it for hospitals.
Ng'ang'a's spraying booth, which he designed after coming up with a machine in the design of the spraying booths installed at the Nairobi Railway Station and at the Likoni ferry crossing, uses electricity and is made up of conduit pipes fitted with 18 nozzles and a motor that is fixed to a container. The container has chemicals for disinfection and has the capacity for back flow in case the pressure is high. Ng'ang'a says being an expert in spraying for over 20 years enabled him to put together the machine which he said he only used Sh10,000 to make.
Ng'ang'a believes that artisans have numerous innovations which, if boosted, could solve many challenges. He added that if he could get sufficient capital, he could come up with a complete spraying booth which can be placed at the entrance of every hospital, police stations, markets, and prisons. He is planning to visit the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) to have his machine evaluated.
