Three students from Kenyatta University (KU) and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) universities are the winners of this year’s #MyLittleBigThing SDG’s Innovation Challenge.
Stephen Muchiri, a graduand from JKUAT emerged the overall winner with his Auto-Alcoblow, alcohol detection and monitoring system. The system measures blood alcohol levels by analyzing a driver’s breath and prevents ignition of a car engine by an intoxicated driver. It also switches off the vehicle in the event that a driver begins consuming alcohol while driving.
In second place was Ruth Wanjiru, a 22-year old student in her fourth year at JKUAT, whose Power in Plastics project aims to encourage the reuse and recycling of plastics, and empower low-income communities.
Nkanai Cynthia, 19, from Kenyatta University came in third, with her Keep A Child Warm project. Using easily available local materials such as sisal fibre, recycled gunny bags and traditional lesos, Cynthia makes improvised blankets for distribution to street families, whom she also mentors.
The three will get the chance to attend the Cambridge University Sustainability Practitioners Program in South Africa in August, which will be followed by a three-month incubation period for their projects upon their return.
The contest is an initiative of MK-Africa in partnership with Safaricom, the University of Cambridge South Africa and PKF among others that seeks to create awareness on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among the youth, with the aim of encouraging them to come up with homegrown solutions to Africa’s most pressing sustainability challenges.
