Somaya Faruqi facts for kids

Somaya Faruqi (born in 2002) is a talented student and engineer from Afghanistan. She is the leader of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team, also known as the "Afghan Dreamers." Somaya was recognized by the BBC in 2020 and featured by UNICEF and UN Women for her inspiring work. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, her team designed a special machine called a ventilator to help people in Afghanistan who were sick with the coronavirus.

Early Life and Learning

Somaya Faruqi was born in 2002 in Herat city, which is in western Afghanistan. When she was a child, she loved watching her father work in his car repair shop. This made her very interested in engineering. Her mother wasn't able to go to school much past age ten because of old rules that stopped girls from getting a full education. Somaya has shared that she wants to become an electronic engineer and is thankful for her parents' full support.

Her Journey as an Engineer

Joining the Robotics Team

In 2017, when Somaya was 14, she became one of six members of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team. This team was started by Roya Mahboob. They traveled to the United States to compete in a big robotics contest called the FIRST Global Challenge. In 2018, the team trained in Canada and kept traveling in the United States for several months to join more competitions. After their visas for the United States ended, Somaya competed with her team in Estonia and Istanbul.

Leading the Team and Helping with COVID-19

By early 2020, at age 17, Somaya became the captain of the Afghan Girls Robotics Team. The team met every day after school. In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there weren't enough ventilators in Herat. The local government asked for help to design affordable ventilators. Somaya's team was one of six groups asked to help.

Using a design from MIT and getting advice from MIT engineers and a doctor named Douglas Chin, the team built a test version of a ventilator. They used parts from a Toyota Corolla car and a chain from a Honda motorcycle. Somaya's father helped the team by driving them to their workshop, taking back roads to avoid checkpoints. UNICEF also helped the team get the parts they needed. They worked for three months and finished their ventilator test model in July 2020.

New Inventions and Challenges

In December 2020, a government minister helped fund a factory to make these ventilators. Under the guidance of their mentor, Roya Mahboob, the Afghan Dreamers also created other helpful robots. They designed a UVC Robot for cleaning and a Spray Robot for disinfecting. Both of these were approved by the Ministry of Health to be produced.

In August 2021, Somaya was asked about the future of Afghanistan. She said that her team only wanted to continue their work. She also mentioned that women in Afghanistan had made a lot of progress, and this progress should be respected. Later that month, it was reported that some team members and their coaches were trying to leave Afghanistan. They asked Canada for help. By August 19, 2021, some members had moved to Qatar. By August 25, 2021, some arrived in Mexico. On August 26, 2021, Somaya was quoted saying, "We left Afghanistan for our education and one day we will come back and we will serve our people and our country."

Awards and Recognitions

Somaya Faruqi and her team have received many honors for their amazing work:

• 2017: Silver medal for Courageous Achievement at the FIRST Global Challenge (for science and technology).
• Benefiting Humanity in AI award at World Summit AI.
• Janet Ivey-Duensing's Permission to Dream Award at the Raw Science Film Festival.
• 2018: Entrepreneurship Challenge at Robotex in Estonia.
• 2020: Named one of the BBC's 100 Women.
• 2020: Featured by UNICEF as a "TEEN. GIRL. ACTIVIST." Read more here.
• 2021: Included in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list.
• 2021: Featured by UN Women in "Inspiring girls to know: Four stories to celebrate girls in ICT" Read more here.