Robotics build path from rural Kenya to world stage

KENYA - Jeremiah Kithinji had never touched a computer before he finished high school. A decade later, he is teaching robotics, and even took a team of rural Kenyans to the World Robotics Olympiad in Singapore.

In a classroom in Laikipia county, a sparsely populated grasslands region of northern Kenya known for its rhinos and cheetahs, pupils are busy snapping together wheels, motors and sensors to assemble a robot.

Guiding them is Kithinji, 27, who runs a string of robotics clubs in the area that have taken some of his pupils far beyond the rural landscapes outside.

In November, he took a team of three to Singapore for the Olympiad, where he also served as the competition's first Kenyan judge. They presented a simulated space mission with a robot that could launch a model satellite and collect space debris.

Singapore was an eye-opening experience for Kithinji, who was educated in a modest rural school without access to computers.

"I felt this country is so advanced. Interacting with the people showed me how much they care about their nation, and it made me think about how I can instil the same mindset in my students," he told AFP.

Kenya has pushed science and engineering in its latest curriculum, but lacks the resources for robotics training.

The clubs in Laikipia, which reach around 200 pupils, are funded by a US nonprofit, Science in a Suitcase, which helped train Kithinji and funded the trip to Singapore.

They have inspired Natalia Wangari, 14.

"In the future, when I become a neurosurgeon, I won't have to perform every surgery myself. I can build a robot that acts as a doctor. I'll just need to code it, and it will do the surgery itself," she told AFP.

ROBOTS ADAPTED TO KENYA

Kithinji hopes robotics can provide solutions to some of Kenya's specific challenges.

He previously coached a team at the African Olympiad in South Africa in 2024, where they designed agricultural robots that can operate farming tools and irrigate fields, and sees particular benefits for rural hospitals -- assisting in surgeries and delivering medication.

He dreams of more support and collaborators to expand his robotics programme across the country.

For now, his pupils are focused on winning a place at the next Olympiad, in Puerto Rico, and they are brainstorming ideas for this year's theme: robots meet culture.

But whatever happens, he is happy they are taking control of modern technology.

"The skills these kids are developing, critical thinking, problem-solving and technical skills... are the future skills our country needs," he said.

"I want our kids to create the technology, not just consume it."