Mr. Shuriye Mohamed Mire, a technician living in Lasanod town in Somaliland’s Sool region, has used his ingenuity to respond to the Coronavirus by making an affordable hand-washing station that is proving popular locally.
The simple station consists of a 30-liter capacity water tank made out of welded iron sheets, with a mounted bucket and a tap.
It is ideal for public places and it is easy to remove the pieces to put it away when not in use.
“We heard comments from the Somali doctors advising people on how they can protect themselves from this pandemic. It occurred to me that hands are the worst carriers of the virus. On 17th March I completed the sketch plan and presented the first one the next day,” Shuriye told Radio Ergo’s local reporter.
“Many people came to my launch of this portable washing station, including young people and the media who interviewed me and took pictures and later posted on social media.”
The mayor of Lasanod, Hussein Taarwale, called Shuriye to his office and ordered 12 of the washing stations, which cost around $60-70 each.
So far, Shuriye has sold about 60 of them and he has been receiving several orders a day from the town and surrounding villages.
Mr. Shuriye is pleased to be doing his part in enabling people to respond to the new norms in hygiene created by Coronavirus, whilst also making a living.
“I have seen my hand-washing tank displayed everywhere and the authorities are using it to teach the public the value of hand-washing. I am aware that my creativity is helping with the public health awareness campaigns and is therefore beneficial to all the Somali people,” he said.
