College builds a new device to combat poor water, air quality

Students of Marist College Yangoji area of Abuja have created two devices designed to tackle poor water and air quality in Nigeria and Africa at large. Their devices utilize emerging technologies like Internet of Things (IOT) and Embedded Systems which are relatively new on the African Continent.
Their water quality monitor named Marist-WQM is equipped with multiple sensors for efficient remote smart water quality monitoring, the project team leader, Romania Ayeh said.
The device measures real-time pH, turbidity temperature etc. “This device is suitable for potable water monitoring, fish farm management, seawater pollution monitoring, remote measurement of swimming pools,” told our correspondent. He said the students were spurred to develop the device upon discovery that every year, 3.5 million people die from water-related diseases and 2.2 million of this number are children, according to a WHO report. The report has it that four major Nigerian cities are among the 20 cities with the deadliest air quality in the world. Poor air quality causes lung cancer, triggers asthma, causes stroke in adults and stunted brain development for children under age five. “All these amongst others spurred the students to swing into action and create their air quality device called MARIST-AQM,” he added. He said the device utilizes various sensors and microprocessors to detect elevated level of harmful particles and chemicals and relays the information to users via computers and smartphones in a format that is easy to interpret. In addition, it measures dust, carbon dioxide, various harmful chemicals, temperature, and humidity, and triggers a loud alarm and warning phone calls if air quality, humidity or temperature go extremely above normal. Marist College Yangoji, Abuja, came out top in the maiden edition of Afro-Students Entrepreneurship Education Summit in conjunction with the 2020 SAGE Business Innovation Challenge that had the participation of 13 teams from all over the country. Accordingly, this qualifies them to lead the African delegation to the Netherlands in August 2020 for the SAGE World Competition for young business leaders and innovators. They will compete with technologically advanced countries like China, America, Canada, Ireland, Israel and others. Afro-Students Entrepreneurship Education Development (AFROSEED) is a non-profit initiative aimed at igniting the imaginative abilities and problem-solving skills of young people in Africa by fostering access to functional entrepreneurship education, financial literacy and citizenship education. AFROSEED is simply SOWING the SEED for Africa’s Peace and Prosperity. Ayeh expressed optimism that the project would inspire positive change in Nigeria and across Africa, as it provides opportunity for healthier lives and economy, and also provides the much-needed water and air quality to various stakeholders.