Vistetius Kapumburu (19) is using skills he developed outside the classroom to experiment with ways of producing electricity, years after poverty forced him to leave school in Grade 3.
Kapumburu, who is from the Kavango West region, earlier this week shared his journey from dropping out of school at a tender age to developing an interest in electricity and receiving opportunities to further his education.
Kapumburu says he left school because his family could not afford to buy him proper clothing, and he was often mocked by other pupils for wearing torn shorts.
He says his mother was unemployed at the time and was not receiving a pension, while other family members were not in a position to assist him.
“During that time, my mother was not working, and also my mother was not even registered for pension,” he says.
The situation eventually led him to drop out of school, despite being only in Grade 3.
Years after leaving school, Kapumburu developed an interest in electricity through his own curiosity and began experimenting with different ideas.
He started by making wire cars and placing small batteries in them so that they could move on their own.
He later experimented with making a wire aeroplane that could fly on its own.
One of the wire aeroplanes he developed reportedly travelled to Angola, an achievement that further demonstrated the skills he had developed through his own experiments.
Kapumburu’s skills eventually attracted public attention, leading to support from several companies and organisations.
He says some companies offered to help him return to school and continue his education, while others supported his development.
He later joined Ngato Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), where he is receiving training and developing his knowledge in producing electricity from water.
His sister, Sakaria Ndamonako, says Kapumburu was an ordinary child while growing up and his interest in electricity only developed years after he left school.
She says she is happy about the opportunities his skills created for him and hopes the support he has received will eventually lead to employment. Ndamonako says she wants to see her brother build a future from the skills he has developed.
Kapumburu is now working towards developing a project that combines water and solar energy to produce electricity.
He says he does not want to stop at his current achievements and has several ideas he hopes to develop further.
He says he needs assistance, including donations and other forms of support, to turn his ideas into fully developed projects.
For Kapumburu, what began as curiosity after dropping out of school has developed into an opportunity to learn, experiment and pursue his interest in electricity.
