Five African teens changing the world
Kelvin Doe
Kelvin Doe recently became the youngest person EVER to be invited to MIT’s ‘Visiting Practitioner Programme’. His claim to fame? His ability to turn trash into batteries, generators and even radio transmitters. Self-taught, he has used these skills to create a community empowerment radio station, which he runs as “DJ Focus”. Despite his genius he is down to earth, humble and the sort of person we should all aspire to be. Be warned, this video is the most motivating and heart-warming I’ve ever seen, tissues will be required!
Richard Turere
A teenage Maasai herdsman from Kenya was losing his family’s livestock to lions from the nearby Nairobi National Park. Rather than trying to kill the lions, like most in his community felt forced to do, he used incredible resourcefulness to invent a solar powered lighting system that now protects the cattle from his own and several other villages. Through providing a different way of protecting the cattle, he has also done a lot to help the lions. By safeguarding human lives, protecting livelihoods and building harmony with the natural environment, Richard shows us how little it takes to come up with solutions when we pay attention to local circumstances.
Nadege Iradukunda
Nadege is a young Rwandan who is dramatically reducing the cost of running schools by setting up bio-digester plants. A bio-digester plant uses natural biological processes to converts food waste into energy! The plants help schools in Rwanda not only to reduce their environmental impact but also to save on heating and lighting costs by as much as 40%. This in turn makes education much more affordable and accessible to more Rwandan children. Since the inception of the project she has overseen the deployment of 15 bio-digester plants, serving more than 15000 students.
Ludwick Marishane
This young South African is no stranger to invention, and when in Grade 9 (12 years old) he even invented his own bio-fuel! The invention featured is called Dry-Bath and is a way to properly cleanse your body without using any water. Ludwick says he specifically invented this for the millions of people across the world who don’t have enough access to clean water, and so help with the prevention of diseases such as Trachoma. Beyond this though, he sees this particular invention as a way to save water, protecting and preserving this scarce resource.
Laetitia Mukungu
Laetitia founded and steered to success the Women’s Rabbit Association of Kenya. After a volunteer teaching stint she realised that the biggest impediment to quality education was a lack of funds at home, which impacted on the schools’ resources and even affected their ability to provide uniforms and stationery. She decided she needed to start an income generating project and decided on rabbit breeding! Watch this to find out why she chose rabbits, as well as how 15 families have been transformed by this one inspiring individual.
