The members of Afghanistan’s prize-winning girls' robotics team are trying to build a simple ventilator from used car parts to help their war-stricken country battle the new coronavirus.
In this Wednesday, April 8, 2020 photo, a group of young girls are developing two types of cheap ventilator devices using Toyota car spare parts to help the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in Herat, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghanistan faces the pandemic nearly empty-handed. It has only 400 ventilators for a population of more than 30 million.
After the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, girls returned to schools, but gaining equal rights remains a struggle. Farooqi is undaunted. “We are the new generation,” she said in a phone interview. “We fight and work for people. Girl and boy, it does not matter anymore.” In Herat, residents are only permitted to leave their homes for urgent needs. The robotics team has a limited number of special permits for cars.
Daniela Rus, a professor at MIT, welcomed the team’s initiative to develop the prototype. “It will be excellent to see it tested and locally produced,” she said.
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