Four students from Kanga School in Migori have qualified to represent the Kenya at the creative competition in the United States of America.
This came after the national science congress competition at Kabianga University, under the startup Afrika innovations foundation, where the students emerged top in their creation and were ranked the best to represent Kenya in the USA.
The students designed a machine that can detect the presence of fire and even oil leakages and at the same time make a notification via short message on mobile phone to fire department.
It is a journey that has taken them a period of six months to design this machine which they believe if considered can help reduce the fire tragedies that have been witnessed in various schools in Kenya.
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Dexel Yell one of the student’s states that the machine has the ability to detect smoke while at the same time notifying the phone linked to it via SMS of the impending danger.
“It has the ability to recognise the presence of smoke and then send an alert via message to the fire department and anybody in charge of the building. We believe this can reduce further harm”, said Yell.
Ericsson Otieno, one of the innovator students, says that the journey was not a smooth one as they lacked essential material equipment to make the best out of their idea,
“On our journey, we have encountered various challenges. We lack the necessary equipment to further improve our creativity,” said Ericsson.
“The device is designed to be installed in any building ranging from schools, hospitals and even private homes in Kenya as it is portable,” added Otieno.
Mr Benard Odira, a teacher at Kanga School, appealed to the government of Kenya to identify and support innovations, especially among students who he believes have different abilities apart from bookwork.
“There is a need for the Kenyan government and the Ministry of Education to identify students who have different abilities and talents and offer them support. We are moving in a world where we cannot survive without innovations,” said Mr Odira.
“We cannot survive without the stem subjects like science, mathematics, engineering and technology. This is where the world is moving towards,” added Odira.
Kanga Chief Principal Mr Reuben Kodiango noted that it is upon the stakeholders in Kenya to pick up the innovation and develop it further. This he says owing to the fact that there have been cases of fire incidents in most learning institutions.
“We have had several fire cases in our learning institutions and if these innovations can be developed further, it will really help to curb such incidents. The Kenya government should consider it for further packaging and implementation,” he said.