We Conducted A Kids AI Holiday Bootcamp in Kimana
The “system” is designed to leave some people behind. It is a harsh truth, but a truth nonetheless. In the grand narrative of technological progress, rural villages are often treated as footnotes places where “innovation” is just a buzzword heard on the radio, not a reality lived in the classroom.
While the world races toward the Fourth Industrial Revolution, kids in our villages are often still being prepared for the Second. They are left on the sidelines, watching the future happen to other people.
But I refused to let that be the story for Kimana.
The Seed of 2001
I saw this gap because I once lived in it. My journey to becoming a Tech Founder and Coach didn’t start in a glass office in Nairobi; it started with a sacrifice in a small rural town in Kajiado South.
In 2001, my mother a primary school teacher with a modest salary did something radical. She took a loan. In those days, buying a computer was not just a luxury; it was a financial gamble. But she bet on me. That machine wasn’t just metal and plastic; it was a portal. It planted a seed of curiosity that grew into the career I have today.
That memory is the fire in my bones. It is why I quit my corporate job. I realized that if I could be the “investor” for a generation of rural kids, if I could replicate my mother’s sacrifice for them, we could rewrite the destiny of this entire community.
A Strategic Rebellion
We needed a partner who wasn’t afraid to disrupt the status quo. We found that in Lenkai Schools, a local institution in Kajiado South that understands that the old ways of teaching will not unlock the new world.
Together, we launched the Kids AI Holiday Bootcamp.
I didn’t want to bring in “experts” from the city who would leave after a week. True empowerment builds from within. I recruited Mathew Macharia and Daniel Njuguna, two brilliant local youths, as co-instructors.
Mathew and Daniel are living proof of the “Digital Moran” philosophy: Talent is distributed equally, but opportunity is not. They didn’t just teach; they led. They showed these kids that you don’t need to leave the village to master the cloud.
The Resistance
Change is never welcomed with open arms. In the beginning, the uptake was slow. In our villages, “Artificial Intelligence” sounds like science fiction or worse, a threat.
Most parents didn’t understand why this mattered. “Why pay for a computer course when they need to study for exams?” they asked. We had to fight for every student. We relied on the School Director to convince skeptical parents to take a leap of faith.
To ensure money wasn’t a barrier, we used a “Robin Hood” model: the fees from the privileged families subsidized the costs for the needy, underprivileged students we handpicked. We refused to let poverty be the reason a brilliant mind stayed in the dark.
The Transformation
When they arrived, the students were “green.” Some were disinterested, dragging their feet, forced by their parents.
But then, we showed them what was possible.
We didn’t just teach them to push buttons. We taught them Ethics. We had the hard, uncomfortable conversations about the dark side of AI; mental health, deepfakes, character assassination, and the danger of making technology a god. We taught them that a powerful tool requires a powerful character.
In just 10 days, the transformation was electric. They went from basic curiosity to generating images, videos, and even designing apps.
Small Hands, Giant Dreams
The impact wasn’t theoretical. It was tangible.
Talyssa took on a personal crusade. She used AI to do a full rebrand of the Loitokitok District Hospital, where her mother works. She gave the hospital a new identity, crafted with love and digital precision.
Lamech found his voice in music. He produced a full Gengetone music video, curating the audio and visuals entirely through AI.
Otieno saw a problem in his own home: food waste. He built a prototype for a Kitchen Manager App to track groceries and save money.
Cherop Sanaipei, our youngest warrior at 8 years old. We reluctantly enrolled her (our cutoff was 10), but her spirit was undeniable. She used Google Veo to create a video simulation of how she will immunize wildlife in the future.
The Awakening
Graduation day was not just a ceremony; it was a revelation.
When the parents arrived and saw their children presenting solutions to real-world problems, the skepticism evaporated. There were tears. Real tears. They saw their “village kids” standing tall, speaking the language of the future, commanding technology that most adults fear.
We cut the cake, we handed out state-of-the-art certificates, but the real gift was the shift in mindset. They realized their children were no longer just students; they were innovators.
The Sage’s Warning
During the graduation, I gave a presentation that silenced the room. I asked the parents a question that keeps me up at night: “Which Industrial Revolution are you preparing your child for?”
The harsh reality is that our current education system was built for the Second Industrial Revolution—the age of factories and mass production. It was designed to create compliant workers who sit in rows, follow instructions, and don’t ask questions.
But that world is dead.
We are now deep in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). This is the age of Intelligence, Connectivity, and AI. The jobs of the factory are gone. The world doesn’t need more human robots; it needs thinkers, creators, and problem-solvers.
If we continue to prepare our children for the Second Revolution while the world moves to the Fourth, we are not educating them; we are sacrificing them. We are rendering them obsolete before they even graduate.
AI is not a “nice to have.” It is the literacy of this century.
We captured the raw energy and the undeniable brilliance of these young minds in action. Don’t just read about the revolution; watch it unfold below.
Join The Revolution
We have proven that the rural child is not “less than.” They are just “less accessed.”
The potential I saw in Kimana is infinite, but it is fragile. We need to protect it. We need to water it.
We are on a mission to equip the next generation with the mindset and tools to dominate the future economy. But we cannot do it alone.
Partner with us. Donate. Be the person who buys the computer for the next village kid.
