Sierra Leone Air Air pollution: Sierra Leone scholar tackles poisonous air air pollution

FREETOWN: In his small Freetown workshop, engineering scholar James Samba tinkered with batteries and electrical components he hoped may assist clear up Sierra Leone’s polluting public transport system.
Rush hour within the West African nation’s main cities is a frenetic medley of minibuses, mopeds, shared taxis and three-wheeled autos often known as “kekehs” — every spluttering poisonous emissions into the environment.
Samba stated that his uncle died from a respiratory sickness after years of inhaling roadside exhaust fumes, spurring the 23-year-old to develop his personal mannequin for an electrical kekeh.
Assembled from recycled scrap steel and powered by batteries, the pink four-wheeled car now roams the streets of the capital.
Though the undertaking remains to be in its infancy, Samba goals to supply an eco-friendly different to conventional fuel-run fashions.
“I wished to avoid wasting others from dying of lung and respiratory illness attributable to air air pollution… by manufacturing a prototype electrical car,” Samba stated.
Worldwide, an estimated 4.2 million untimely deaths per 12 months are attributed to outside air air pollution, the World Well being Group (WHO) says, with low- and middle-income nations overwhelmingly impacted.
Automobile emissions are additionally a number one contributor to local weather change.
Like in a lot of West Africa, prolonged site visitors jams in Sierra Leone’s main cities and poorly maintained autos with inefficient exhausts exacerbate the emissions drawback.
The United Nations Atmosphere Programme (UNEP) says that in 2021, high-quality particle air air pollution killed 1,200 folks in Sierra Leone, a rustic of 8.5 million folks.
‘Good for enterprise, setting’
Samba first ventured into engineering when he constructed an electrical wheelchair for his uncle, who had lengthy struggled to entry public transport.
He has since arrange his personal firm, Sierra Electrical, with the goal of finally manufacturing a fleet of solar-powered kekehs and disability-friendly electrical autos.
Missing the rapid means to cowl manufacturing prices, Samba has partnered with start-up NEEV Salone to develop a kekeh powered by a rooftop photo voltaic panel.
The Freetown-based agency already has a fleet of greater than 100 photo voltaic tricycles, three charging stations and battery-swapping cupboards for purchasers, in accordance with co-founder and operations officer Emmanuella Sandy.
“Our e-kekeh merchandise are thriving. We swap batteries to scale back ready time for business riders and we have now educated 60 college college students from the mechanical engineering division on electrical car meeting and upkeep,” she stated.
The event of electrical autos faces quite a few hurdles in Sierra Leone, the place the nationwide grid suffers from power underperformance and frequent outages, and a six-month wet season hampers the functioning of photo voltaic panels.
Simply over 20 per cent of households have entry to electrical energy by way of the nationwide grid or mini-grids, in accordance with a 2024 World Financial institution report.
NEEV Salone alternates between solar energy, off-grid mills, and the nationwide grid to take care of the provision of their charging factors.
Samba says photo voltaic kekehs are cheaper to run than fuel-powered alternate options, as drivers face decrease upkeep prices and no gasoline invoice.
The smallest of NEEV Salone’s photo voltaic kekehs sells for 120,000 new leones (round $5,270), a excessive worth for these dwelling in one of many world’s poorest nations.
Regardless of the fee, some drivers have already transformed to renewables within the face of rising gasoline costs.
“The photo voltaic tricycle is snug and a worthwhile enterprise. I now not fear about gasoline shortage within the nation,” stated 25-year-old driver Thomas Kanu.
“The photo voltaic kekeh is sweet for enterprise and our surroundings.”