Olubunmi Odejimi
Bohlale Mphahlele, a 16-year-old has invented a device, which is known as an “Alerting Ear Piece”, to curb human trafficking.
The Grade 11 student from SJ van der Merwe Technical High School in Lebowakgomo Circuit, Capricorn South District, created this earpiece to track victims of gender-based brutality and human trafficking.
Human trafficking is one of the biggest problems facing South Africa and has been considered an enemy, and many measures have been taken by the country to curb it.
The earpiece which was recently exhibited at the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists in the category for Engineering-electronics and embedded systems, won a bronze medal and a trophy. The Eskom Expo is a science fair for young scientists, where students get the chance to showcase their own scientific exploration.
The device can be placed into earrings and can capture photos of the culprits, allowing the police to quickly recognize them. The earpiece has been designed to send an alert to selected families and friends when the wearer is in despair.
Bohlale said she first attempted to create the device 5 years ago which was when she was still in primary school. According to the teenage student, her inspiration came from watching the news with her father at an early age. She mentioned that the increasing rate of human trafficking, rape and gender-based violence with women and children being the major victims, became a disturbing news to her.
The Member of Executive Council for Education, Polly Boshielo congratulated Bohlale on her achievement and mentioned that the device can help in the fight against crimes for women and children. She noted that it was a thing of joy to see that all m efforts made towards improving technical schools in the province were yielding results.
At the moment the device has not been completely made, but a prototype has been tested.
