A physics class at Smith Secondary Campus four years ago inspired Eunice to make a difference in a unique and innovative way.
During a lesson about refrigeration in 2013, Eunice conjured the idea to invent a low-cost refrigerator made of commonly used household materials such as tiles, cement and charcoal, for Tanzanians living in rural communities.
“Many people in my own community have enough food, but they do not benefit from it because it starts to decay before they have the chance to consume it, as they do not have electricity. I wanted to explore alternative means of preservation.”
Eunice, currently a Beyond St Jude’s Community Service Year intern in our Purchasing team, spent the remainder of 2013 researching low-cost means of storing fresh food, and launched her project at St Jude’s Science Exhibition in 2014.
Four years later, Eunice’s model has been replicated and people in her community benefit from the innovation.
“A farmer in the community approached me when he heard about the project and wanted to make something similar to preserve meat and milk. I willingly shared my knowledge with him and hope to keep developing my idea so more people can benefit in the future.”
Although the project continues to positively affect the wider community, Eunice had to overcome several challenges in the beginning.
“Many people in Tanzania still assume science is a male-dominated area. People would say to me, ‘you are a girl, why bother working in this field?’” In an age of rapid technological advancement, Eunice faced the unique challenge of justifying why a simple, low-tech innovation was relevant.
“Most people want electronic refrigerators and electricity in their houses. At first, people thought I was too ‘local’, as imported technology is popular among Tanzanians. We as a country are still developing and reaching international standards. However, my project is helping people in need.”
Eunice has been accepted as a MasterCard Scholar through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at African Leadership Academy, to the African Leadership University in Mauritius, where she hopes to study business administration. This will help her to develop and continue improving her innovation.
“Tanzania needs professionals in industry development and agriculture. I want this project to benefit as many people as possible.”
Eunice has proven herself as a future leader, entrepreneur and innovator. Her commitment to serving the community through science sets a positive example for girls and young women!
“Some girls have fears about studying sciences. I remind those girls that science is fun. Science is life. It is the origin of everything we see around us, both natural and human-made.”
Through your support, Eunice is already creating change and improving the lives of her fellow Tanzanians.
