Teenage inventor keeps village awake

By Titus Too

It is a cool afternoon in a rugged village in Eldoret West District and everybody is going about daily chores. Suddenly, an unexpected siren sounds, disrupting the serenity of the village.

One by one, neighbours throng the nearby homestead to find the cause of alarm. The home is simple, with grass-thatched houses.

The alarm is so sharp that its blast captures the attention of everyone so fast, perhaps, because the Kapchan village in Eldoret North constituency has no electricity.

Edwin Singoei works on his alarm project.

He shows journalists the sensors in the system. Photos: Kevin Tunoi/Standard

They later find the village genius, 18-year-old Form Four leaver Edwin Kipchumba Singoei, is at it again. He has just completed his latest invention and was testing it. This time round it is a security alarm, complete with sensors. Singoei says this has been his pastime as he awaits his KCSE results.

His new invention, he says, can be used to detect intruders and he plans to patent it. The gadget comprises a wooden box with electronic components and a screen and can tell the direction of the intrusion or detect metallic objects like guns.

The system

It also has invisible sensors placed at strategic points of a homestead and can send signals to the monitor.

The monitor would then illuminate showing the point at which the intruder comes from as the siren goes off. The first born in a family of three says he has been thinking about the project ever since he was in Form Two.

"I had put the project in paper but decided to conclude it practically as I wait for my KCSE results," he told The Standard on Saturday at his home. The project has cost him about Sh3,000 in buying wires and other simple electronic components.

"I have ten other electronic projects but I chose to complete the alarm since it is less costly. There is also the need to adopt the systems to boost security in our homes," Singoei adds.

The equipment’s sound is adjustable. It can also notify the user when certain entries like the doors, windows, and stores have not been shut or if lights in some rooms have not been switched off. It gives an alarm warning at given intervals. He named the alarm Sibeto. The name is derived from the first two letters of his name and his parents names: Singoei, Benjamin (his father) and Too (mother).

Two years ago, Singoei stunned villagers with a windmill that could charge mobile phone batteries and for simple lighting system. He, however, says he suspended the project to concentrate on schoolwork at Kuinet Secondary.

His mother, Esther Kebenei Too, describes him as a ‘gifted boy’. She says, "His curiosity started when he was Class Three.

How he started

He could dismantle the family transistor radio and wristwatches and then reassemble them. He had become nuisance and we often thought of punishing him."

She adds when the son’s character persisted they decided to leave him alone. She joyfully says of Singoei’s windmill project: "To date, his wiring system has benefited us greatly. We no longer use paraffin-lamps for lighting. And with his latest invention, we feel safe."

And now the young boy claims several businessmen from the neighbouring Kuinet and Eldoret towns have approached him to buy Sibeto. "I have decided not to sell it until I patent it and ensure it has no defects. Some have even offered Sh10,000 for a single component," he says. Singoei says he loved physics while in high school, which exposed him to exciting topics in science.

His dream career

"I would have taken power mechanics but it was not offered at my school," says the ambitious boy who wishes to study electronics.

"The only challenge could be lack of resources. My parents are supportive but may not afford to meet the costs of college education since they are just peasant farmers," he says.

Mrs Emily Kogo, his former teacher at Kapchan Primary School, describes him as hardworking and appeals for residents to support him in achieving his dreams of becoming a top-notch engineer. She says his innovations should also be an inspiration to youth. Singoei innovated an automatic room temperature regulator while in Form One.

The regulator, which used a mortar, could lower or increase temperatures as required with change of weather. During his free time, Singoei attends Kapchan ACK Church where he actively participates in a choir as a pianist.