The
Tech Kidz Africa centre
in Mombasa is helping children passionate about technology to achieve their dreams.
Located at the Swahili Pot, formerly known as Rissea, it helps them develop programmes, mobile applications, computer and mobile games.
Founder Paul Akwabi said the centre aims to unlock the dreams of talented youths between seven and 17 years old.
He said their programmes give children an opportunity to think outside the classrooms and normal lives.
“The current generation with all the internet around needs to be taught how to constructively and positively use it,” Akwabi said.
He said the centre does not only focus on technology, but also on creative design, graphic design and also computer literacy.
Akwabi said children have also been introduced to robotic development, as the future of technology lies with robots.
The students are also given life skills through guidance and counselling and character development.
“We want these children to understand that no matter what career path you choose, technology is applicable,” Akwabi said.
The centre wants to improve the quality of innovation and also create a different perspective towards science, technology engineering and mathematics fields. Staff make it fun to learn by using visual effects and animations, among other things.
Forty-three students are enrolled, with 23 from the 8-4-4 system and 20 from British system schools.
“The centre brings together students from all systems. This has enable them interact and each school system come with its ideas which is an advantage to them and also the centre,” he added.
In its one year of existence, Tech Kidz Africa has caught the attention of a German technology academy, agreeing on an exchange programme for students from these two countries.
LANGUAGE TRANSLATOR
Imagine visiting a place whose native language you cannot speak. It ends up in miscommunication or use of a translator. That’s the dilemma that once hit Tech Kidz beneficiary Noel Ambugu, a form one student at Aga Khan.
After falling victim to language barrier, he took that as a challenge to develop the Kenya Local App, which is expected to hit the market before the end of year.
“I know there are so many people who have gone through similar problems, especially for the people born in towns,” he said.
But how is this innovation unique and a game changer? Google Translator only translates national languages. Like in Kenya, the Google app can only translate Kiswahili and English.
That has left a gap in communication, considering Kenya has 42 tribes and many more sub-tribes who speak different languages. Seeing the need, Ambugu came up with Local Kenya App, which will translates all the 42 native languages.
As this is a new technology, Ambugu has to manually feed words of different languages to the application, as they cannot be found in Google.
“You can find English or Kiswahili or Spanish words in Google or Wikipedia. But you cannot find Luo or Giriama words on the Internet, so I have to gather them and feed them to the system,” he said.
Currently, this young innovator depends on his parents, who come from two different tribes, to gather words for his app. He also depends on his friends to gather more words from different communities.
So far, Ambugu has filled words from Luo, Kikuyu, Kamba and Ameru. The developer needs volunteers to give him words from other communities.
Ambugu explained that one records voice on the app and commands it to translate to the language of choice. After it gives you feedback, you can then type your response and again command it to translate to the desired language.
The innovator, who desires to be a programme developer, only took two weeks to develop the application. He has been designing the idea on PowerPoint and researched thoroughly on the content developing and how to sharpen his skills in technology.
“Aside from good tutors at the Tech Kidz Centre, I had also invested a lot in researching. I have made trial and error to finally get to where I can comfortably develop an app in two weeks,” Ambugu said.
The developer said the app would not require Internet to be operational. The Internet, he said, is not affordable to everyone and may also fail if one visits interior places.
At his young age, Ambugu has vast knowledge on technology and some of the greatest innovators. Apart from his parents being his role models, he draws inspiration from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
“I love how Bezos quit his good-paying job and started up a book-selling business, and later turned it turned into a multi-billion dollar online retailer business. It really inspires me and I know one day my dream of owning a software developing company will come true,” he said.
Bezos was recently ranked the richest man in the world, worth $143 billion, ousting Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates.
MODERN SCHOOL CALENDAR
Another Tech Kidz beneficiary addressed a parenting problem. With absentee parents whose lives have been taken over by work, Neville Ngache developed a special calendar to remind them of their children’s school activities.
Ngache, a class six student at Nyali School, came up with a calendar that a school can adopt and fill all its activities, such as school meetings, educational trips, sports day and many other things.
The calendar will then remind parents of oncoming activities of their children and whether they will be required to attend.
Ngache said in some instances, parents miss school activities due to lack of communication. Having such a calendar to frequently remind them will come in hand in ensuring they participate in their children’s affairs.
“With tight schedules for modern parents, many tend to forget what happens in their children’s lives, especially when it comes to education. However, with this calendar app, parents are reminded of the exact date the activities will be taking place in advance,” he said.
Ngache said the app can also inform parents of which teachers are on duty and also indicate his or her contacts.
He said if the calendar app were adopted by schools countrywide, it would prevent forging of results, as the calendar will automatically show students’ results.
Ngache said with this, there would be no need for a physical report book, which can easily be altered.
COMPUTER GAMES
Another Tech Kidz beneficiary, Daniel Katisia, has developed 12 games, which are yet to hit the market. Some of the games can be played on computers and laptops.
Katisia’s love for games saw him develop the games, with the help of the IT trainers at the centre.
His elder sister Sarah hopes to make money at her young age when her app, “Music Teacher”, hits the market.
Sarah said the app will help people train themselves on how to sing in different types of voices.
“The app can assist you to identify your voice type, whether it is alto, soprano, tenor or bass,” she said.
The Music Teacher app not only coaches your voice but also advises you on what to eat and what not eat, if you want a better singing voice.
“With my knowledge of music, different voices require limitation of certain foodstuff, lest they spoil your voice,” she said.