Teenage Engineers in Afghanistan Use Car Parts to Build Ventilators
2020-04-25
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1Young female engineers in Afghanistan are using old car parts to develop ventilators to treat coronavirus patients.
2The girls - ages 14 to 17 - are members of a prize-winning robotics team.
3They say they are on a life-saving mission.
4Somaya Farooqi is among them.
5"If we even save one life with our device, we will be proud," she said.
6On most mornings, Farooqi's father drives the girls to a workspace outside the western Afghan city of Herat, where they live.
7The trip takes careful planning to avoid police roadblocks set up to enforce stay-at-home orders for people in Herat.
8There are a limited number of special permits to avoid the police stops, but Farooqi's father has not been able to get one.
9The girls say they have to work fast so they are willing to take risks to travel outside the city.
10"We are concerned about security driving out of the city," Farooqi said.
11But there is no other way, she said, adding, "we have to try to save people's lives."
12The team's efforts would have been unthinkable in Afghanistan just a generation ago.
13Under Taliban rule in the late 1990s, girls were not permitted to even go to school.
14Farooqi's mother was forced to leave school in the third grade.
15After the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001, girls were permitted to return to schools.
16The struggle to gain equal rights for females continues and the young engineers push forward with their work.
17"We are the new generation," Farooqi said.
18"We fight and work for people. Girl and boy, it does not matter anymore."
19Afghanistan is facing the coronavirus crisis with limited supplies of medical equipment.
20The country has just 400 ventilators for its population of more than 36 million.
21So far, the country has reported more than 1,000 cases of the virus, and about 30 deaths.
22But experts say the number of cases are likely much higher since virus testing remains very limited in the country.
23More coronavirus cases have been reported in Herat province because it sits close to the border with Iran, which has experienced a severe spread.
24The local spread of the virus led Farooqi and her team to try to come up with a medical solution.
25At their workspace, the team has experimented with two different designs.
26One of them is based on plans developed by engineers at America's Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
27Parts used to build the ventilators include the motor of a small car device, car batteries and sets of oxygen pumps.
28A group of auto repair experts helps the team build the ventilator structure.
29Daniela Rus, a professor at MIT, welcomed the team's quick development efforts.
30"It will be excellent to see it tested and locally produced," she said.
31Afghan businesswoman Roya Mahboob founded the robotics team and raises money to empower girls in technology.
32She says she hopes Farooqi's group will finish building a working model by May or June.
33The model will then be tested by the country's health ministry, at first on animals, a government spokesman said.
34Somaya Farooqi says her team felt the need to seek a solution to help people at home.
35"Afghans should be helping Afghanistan in this pandemic," she said.
36"We should not wait for others."
37I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Young female engineers in Afghanistan are using old car parts to develop ventilators to treat coronavirus patients. 2The girls - ages 14 to 17 - are members of a prize-winning robotics team. They say they are on a life-saving mission. Somaya Farooqi is among them. 3"If we even save one life with our device, we will be proud," she said. 4On most mornings, Farooqi's father drives the girls to a workspace outside the western Afghan city of Herat, where they live. The trip takes careful planning to avoid police roadblocks set up to enforce stay-at-home orders for people in Herat. 5There are a limited number of special permits to avoid the police stops, but Farooqi's father has not been able to get one. The girls say they have to work fast so they are willing to take risks to travel outside the city. "We are concerned about security driving out of the city," Farooqi said. 6But there is no other way, she said, adding, "we have to try to save people's lives." 7The team's efforts would have been unthinkable in Afghanistan just a generation ago. Under Taliban rule in the late 1990s, girls were not permitted to even go to school. Farooqi's mother was forced to leave school in the third grade. 8After the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001, girls were permitted to return to schools. The struggle to gain equal rights for females continues and the young engineers push forward with their work. "We are the new generation," Farooqi said. "We fight and work for people. Girl and boy, it does not matter anymore." 9Afghanistan is facing the coronavirus crisis with limited supplies of medical equipment. The country has just 400 ventilators for its population of more than 36 million. So far, the country has reported more than 1,000 cases of the virus, and about 30 deaths. But experts say the number of cases are likely much higher since virus testing remains very limited in the country. 10More coronavirus cases have been reported in Herat province because it sits close to the border with Iran, which has experienced a severe spread. 11The local spread of the virus led Farooqi and her team to try to come up with a medical solution. At their workspace, the team has experimented with two different designs. One of them is based on plans developed by engineers at America's Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 12Parts used to build the ventilators include the motor of a small car device, car batteries and sets of oxygen pumps. A group of auto repair experts helps the team build the ventilator structure. 13Daniela Rus, a professor at MIT, welcomed the team's quick development efforts. "It will be excellent to see it tested and locally produced," she said. 14Afghan businesswoman Roya Mahboob founded the robotics team and raises money to empower girls in technology. She says she hopes Farooqi's group will finish building a working model by May or June. The model will then be tested by the country's health ministry, at first on animals, a government spokesman said. 15Somaya Farooqi says her team felt the need to seek a solution to help people at home. "Afghans should be helping Afghanistan in this pandemic," she said. "We should not wait for others." 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 18We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 19_________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21ventilator - n. a machine that forces air into the lungs of a sick patient to keep them breathing 22mission - n. an important effort or job 23proud - adj. much pleased; feeling very good about someone or something 24battery - n. an object that provides electricity for things 25pandemic - n. the spread of an infectious disease over a large area in a short period of time