Afghan girls working to turn used car parts into ventilators

Somaya Farooqi and four other teenage girls, who are all members of Afghanistan’s prize-winning girls’ robotics team, said they are on a life-saving mission — to build a ventilator from used car parts and help their country battle the coronavirus  pandemic.

“If we even save one life with our device, we will be proud,” Farooqi said.

The girls team is experimenting at the workshop with designs, including an open-source blueprint from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), according to NBC News. The used car parts being used in their experiment include the motor of a Toyota windshield wiper, batteries, and bag valve masks.

The war-stricken country is facing the coronavirus pandemic nearly empty-handed, having only 400 ventilators for a population of more than 36.6 million.

To date, Afghanistan has confirmed more 900 cases, including 30 deaths.