As most Kenyans misuse social media platforms, Ethan Simiyu, 14, from Sikata village, Kanduyi Constituency Bungoma County has maximized his holiday time to come up with a unique innovation.
Simiyu, who just concluded his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) 2023 at Christ the King primary school, bagged 410 marks and wishes to become a software engineer after completion of his secondary education.
In an Interview with the press at their home in Sikata, Simiyu said that he has used the holiday time to do research online about engineering works and he has been able to come up with a hydraulic arm.
“During my online research on the internet I was able to get knowledge and came up with my own hydraulic arm that can be used to lift objects from one point to the other,” he said.
In addition, Simiyu said that he used locally available materials to come up with the hydraulic arm.
The materials included; wood, syringes, tubes, crews and his own innovative gear that is used to move the machine at the base.
He said that when different syringes are pressed or pulled they move the hydraulic in any direction the operator needs, adding that passion is what propelled him to come up with his own machine.
“I made it because I wanted to investigate the mechanics behind it,” he said.
He told Education news that the stability of the base determines the weight of the load to be lifted by the arm.
The top scorer asserted that his parents have been of much importance during the time he was designing his project.
“All this research I have used my mum’s and dad’s phones, my father used his cash to buy me the materials I needed,” he said, noting that the disadvantage of the machine is that it cannot lift heavy loads because it is made up of the plastic syringes.
He argues that his innovation is different from other Robot arm in that; he personally invented 2 wooden gears connected to one of the syringes, the gears enabling the arm to rotate up to 240 degrees.
Simiyu affirmed that in future intends to come up with other projects like drones.
“My research won’t end here, I’m still doing research on how to come up with a drone using locally available materials,” he said, he also encouraged fellow students to utilize the social media platforms to benefit themselves.
He called on area leaders to sponsor him so that he can perfect his research work.
Antony Fungututi, father, said his son’s talents started when he was still a young boy revealing that he used to dismantle toys and assemble the parts again.
“My son’s passion to do engineering work has not started recently, he used to dismantle toys, Radios and other items in the house and assemble them later and they would work normally,” he said.
Fungututi said that he has always given him support to come up with his engineering works.
Alice Ndombi, mother, said that her son would benefit more if he could have attended the competency based curriculum (CBC).
Furthermore, Mrs. Ndombi said that Ethan uses the science principles to come up with his projects calling on science technicians to help her son grow.
Stephen Chamigere, headteacher, Christ the King primary school, confirmed that Ethan is a former student at the Institute. He also noted that while at school Ethan was bright and best in mathematics and sciences subjects.
“Since class six this child has been very impressive, his performance in mathematics and sciences has been excellent,” Chamigere said, adding that Ethan has been good at explaining mathematics to his fellow pupils in class and they could grasp it better than the teacher could explain it.
He said that Ethan scored 88% in Mathematics and 75% science, pointing out that he has been picked to join Light International Academy and also offered an admission at Kabianga National School.
-By Tony Wafula
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