A teen boy’s invention aims to save lives in flood-prone regions.
Two years ago, a boy from the northern province of Ha Nam watched the news in horror as Vietnam’s central and southwestern regions were submerged by floods after typhoons Chanchu, Xangsane and Durian.
Many children drowned on their way to and from school.
The great loss of life touched something deep inside 13-year-old Le Trong Hieu, though he had never been in a flood himself. Ha Nam has not been hit by floods in decades.
“My family’s business had all the materials necessary to make lifejackets, so I thought: ‘why don’t we produce a floatable schoolbag that is able to support children when they’re in danger of being swept away by floods?’” says Hieu.
Hieu worked on numerous designs for two years, but failed many times.
It wasn’t until he received some advice from his step-father Pham Quang Huy, director of the Nadicom Company, that he was able to calculate exactly how much sponge he would need to float a person. Nadicom specializes in composite building materials.
Hieu found out that he needed 100 to 200 grams of polyurethane sponge to help a 50-kilogram person float in the water.
Having finished his first successful prototypes, Hieu says he hopes his invention will help kids in flood-prone areas, especially those who have to use row boats to go to school.
In recognition of his hard work and practicality, Hieu’s lifejacket-backpack was awarded first prize at the Countrywide Creative Competition for Teenagers and Children in Hanoi on Sunday.
Together with two other competitors, he also received honors from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) at the awards ceremony.
Entanglement
But the award has been shadowed by controversy as some papers have reported that Tran Khac Han, vice director of Nadicom, was the real inventor of the schoolbag.
While Hieu’s father Huy says that Han offered advice, he says it was his son who invented the bag.
After people questioned the name on the copyright, Huy said that because Hieu was so young, they registered the product in Huy’s name.
The judges at the competition clearly came out in favor of Huy’s story when they bestowed their honors on Hieu.
By the numbers
Hieu’s family has launched his schoolbag into mass production.
Priced at VND120,000 (US$7.35) to VND140,000 ($8.58), the schoolbag has been ordered by charity organizations who want to distribute it to poor and disadvantaged students in flood areas.
Viettel Corporation has joined hands with LienViet Bank to donate nearly 5,200 lifesaving schoolbags to the National Fund for Vietnamese Children.
According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Health’s Preventive Medicine Administration, drowning is second leading cause of death in Vietnamese children after traffic accidents.
Around 10 children drown every day in the country.
Some 22 percent of all child deaths in Vietnam come from drowning, according to the statistics, some 10 times the average rate in most developed countries.
Hieu’s invention, along with 14 others from the competition – including an automatic corn-seeding machine from second place winner Trinh Van Duc of Thanh Hoa Province, will compete at the 6th annual International Exhibition for Young Inventors in Taiwan this month.
Source: Tuoi Tre
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