The Thought That Changed Everything
In a small shed in Kikuyu, Kenya, David Gathu asked a question: “What if someone could move an arm… just by thinking?”
That idea became an obsession. With no degrees, no funding, and only e-waste, he and his cousin Moses Kiuna studied neuroscience and robotics online, alone, and against the odds. They failed-again and again. Burned boards. Broken gears. Electric shocks. But they kept going.
The Breakthrough
After months of sleepless nights, they built it: A bio-robotic arm controlled by brain signals. No surgery. No implants. Just a headset that reads thoughts and an arm that obeys. From scrap, they created a $100,000 innovation for under $1,000.
The Roadblocks and Refusals
Big investors came. But they wanted control. David and Moses refused. Instead, they dreamed of Afro-Genesys, a tech hub for young African innovators. Built by Africans. For Africans.
Their Impact
- Their prosthetic gave a boy independence.
- Their teaching sparked hope in young students.
- Their work restored dignity to amputees.
One child said>>> “If you can build a robot from trash, maybe I can too.”
Why We Celebrate Them!
Because they:
- Turned disability into ability
- Made waste into wonder
- Chose purpose over profit
- Proved you don’t need a PhD to change the world, just vision and grit
How have they made Africa Proud?
“Did You Know?”
While the world stood still during COVID, they built:
- A UV sterilizer for masks and money
- An oxygen-powered generator for clinics without electricity. Not for profit but for survival. Their machines became lifelines.
In a continent often seen as needing help, David and Moses offer innovation.
They didn’t wait.
They didn’t ask.
They built.
They led.
They inspired. From a dusty village in Kenya, they reached into the future and pulled Africa forward.