Ghana: Solar-Powered Wash Basin Becomes a Viral Hit
When the Ghanaian government announced a two-week lockdown to combat coronavirus (COVID-19), a local shoemaker stared at a recycled barrel and an idea formed in his head that would help his fellow countrymen.
Richard Kwarteng and his brother, Jude Osei – both natives of the Ashanti region in the south of Ghana – devised creating a basin that would encourage regular hand-washing as a means to avoid spreading the virus.
The basin includes a timer that maintains the 20-second, hand-washing guideline as indicated by the World Health Organisation for personal hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They completed the invention within five days after the government’s announcement in early April.
Osei recorded his brother using the device and posted it to YouTube on 4 April. It quickly went viral, and soon orders started flooding in due to how easily it could be constructed and replicated across the country.
Ghana’s ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation soon got in contact with the brothers to discuss mass rollouts of the basin.
Kwarteng has high hopes for the device, saying: “We hope this will help people to practice normal hand-washing etiquette and we are very grateful for everyone’s support.”
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