Palestinian schoolgirls make history with a special invention

Science Award recipients

Three Palestinian girls from the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) school at Askar refugee camp in Nablus have made history by designing a special cane for the blind. Jocelyne Sambira has more.

NARR: Beating 1500 other finalists, the girls travelled to San Jose California to collect their award at the Intel Science and Engineering Fair. They also travelled to New York where they met the UN Secretary General. I asked them how they felt when they won the prize.

ASSEL: (laughter) a very nice feeling because we were so happy. We jumped and we shout. Yani, we were very happy.

NOOR: That moment was the most beautiful moment in our life because it was very nice and when we listened to our country and our names, they said: Nablus Palestine, Assel Ashaal and Noor Alarada, we were very happy!

NARR: The finalist projects at Intel ISEF usually address issues that have stumped scientists for years and may lead to scientific breakthroughs. Like the walking stick for the blind that the girls devised. Assel Ashaal shares how the idea came to life.

ASSEL: We knew that there were a lot of canes and we searched the internet and we noticed none of these canes have something to help the blind in their movement when they come near holes or going downstairs.

NARR: Various types of "laser canes" have been around since the 1970s. So what makes the UNRWA schoolgirls' invention special? Christopher Gunness, UNRWA spokesperson.

GUNNESS: What these girls' invention does for the first time is to direct a beam downwards which means if there is suddenly a hole, or some steps, or even a cliff or something more dramatic, this cane will sense it and it sends out a very low noise so the person with the cane knows they are about to have the ground disappear from underneath their feet. And that is what makes it a unique invention.

NARR: When the girls enlisted for the science project, they made a list of possible things they could work on but finally opted for the special cane. Noor Alarada tells us what inspired them.

NOOR: We live in a refugee camp and its roads not good enough for walking. It has a lot of holes and obstacles and we have the blind and they have difficulties in their movement, so we tried to help them by developing an electronic cane for the blind.

NARR: It was not easy for the UNRWA schoolgirls to collect material to build their project especially with the restrictions on people's movement and goods within the West Bank. Assel Ashaal elaborates.

ASSEL: When we looked for the materials, and the tools we searched in our cities but we didn't find the first quality for these sensors so we tried to look in other cities like Genene, Turkam and we found it in Ramallah.

NARR: The girls were travelling with their Science and Technology teacher, Jameela Khaled who, according to them, is their role model and should be given credit for the success of this project. Jameela explains why this project is so important to their community.

KHALED: We choose this idea because we think that it's the perfect one because it helps the marginalized group in our community, I mean the blind and we have to challenge our difficulties in our environment to achieve a better life.

NARR: Education is UNRWA's largest programme and provides schooling to more than a quarter million children in Gaza and the West Bank. It is success stories like these that underscore the importance of such projects. Chris Gunness of UNRWA.

GUNNESS: Why we are celebrating in spirit with these three, and their teacher who is with them, is because it just shows that with a little bit of brain power and without fire power, people in the Middle East, particularly Palestinian young people, the next generation, girls, can use science, can solve problems, can use their brain power to get around problems, to find solutions.

NARR: Chris Gunness of UNRWA.