A nine-year-old Kenyan boy has received a presidential award for building a foot-pedalled handwashing machine designed to help limit the spread of Covid-19.
Stephen Wamukota, who lives in Mukwa village, about 250 miles northwest of Nairobi, first came up with the idea after learning about ways to curb the spread of the disease on TV.
The handwashing machine works by users standing on a foot pedal that tips a bucket of water over their hands to clean them, avoiding contact with the surface and thereby reducing the risk of transmission.
Stephen’s father, James Wamukota, said he returned home from work to find that his son had made the device from pieces of wood that he had bought to make a window frame.
James posted Stephen’s inventive creation to Facebook where it quickly went viral and ended up catching the attention of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Stephen was awarded the Presidential Order of Service, Uzalendo (Patriotic) Award on Monday alongside 67 others for their efforts in helping Kenya’s battle against the novel virus.
In an address to mark Kenya’s Independence Day on Monday, President Kenyatta urged unity in the country’s quest to beat the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We need not be persuaded as a people why we must do everything in our power to conquer this invisible enemy – the coronavirus disease.
"But to do so, and regain the ground we have lost, we must come together as a nation. Each one of us is called to become a Shujaa (warrior) against this disease,” he said.
Stephen told the BBC he was “very happy” with his award and that he has now made two machine, but plans to build more.
The nine-year-old plans to become an engineer when he is older and local politicians have promised to give him a scholarship, his father said.
Mukwa village has not yet recorded any cases of coronavirus although James worried that it could still affect the area.
More broadly, Kenya has reported over 2,000 cases of Covid-19 and recorded 71 deaths, according to official figures.
