14 Feb Self-taught African Teen Wows M.I.T.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOLOLrUBRBY&feature=em-share_video_user[/youtube]
What a moving video about a young man, Kelvin, from Sierra Leone who is a self-taught inventor. Kelvin tells us that the electricity in Sierra Leone is scarce, allowing for electricity only once in a week. As he says, “the rest of the month it’s dark.” In that environment he’s created and innovated a battery, an FM transmitter.
David Sengeh, a PhD student at the MIT Media Lab and Kelvin’s mentor, grew up during the decade long civil war in Sierra Leone. After seeing the ravaging effects of war on the people in his country, which made an alarming percentage of the population amputees, David has focused his research on finding comfortable and wearable solutions to prosthetic limbs. He goes back to Sierra Leone to sponsor young people, like Kelvin, with innovative ideas. To find out more visit their website and donate.