{"id":157371,"date":"2026-02-06T19:20:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T19:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/meet-the-kenyan-teaching-robotics-to-children-in-rural-areas"},"modified":"2026-02-06T20:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:38:08","slug":"meet-the-kenyan-teaching-robotics-to-children-in-rural-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/meet-the-kenyan-teaching-robotics-to-children-in-rural-areas","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Kenyan teaching robotics to children in rural areas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. <\/strong> <\/span>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 Kenyans from Laikipia county to the World Robotics Olympiad in Singapore.<\/b><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Guiding them is Jeremiah 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.<\/p>\n

They presented a simulated space mission with a robot that could launch a model satellite and collect space debris.<\/p>\n

Singapore was an eye-opening experience for Kithinji, who was educated in a modest rural school without access to computers.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

Robots adapted to Kenya<\/b><\/p>\n

Kithinji hopes robotics can provide solutions to some of Kenya’s specific challenges.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Kenya<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – 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 Kenyans from Laikipia county to the World Robotics Olympiad in Singapore. In a classroom in Laikipia county – a sparsely populated grasslands region of northern Kenya known […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":157370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[228,544,8297,14857,6052,3182,194],"class_list":["post-157371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-education","tag-kenya","tag-kenya-industry","tag-robotic","tag-school","tag-science","tag-technology"],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the Kenyan teaching robotics to children in rural areas - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag"> Africa-Press - Kenya. 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