Steve Biko Odhiambo has defied all odds to develop and set up a radio station from locally sourced materials.
The 17-year-old innovated a radio transmitter to set up Konzer FM using locally sourced materials such as old motherboards and other electronic gadgets.
Odhiambo who doubles up as a presenter at his own station has used the school break to sensitise the community on Covid-19.
This teenager's invention has reached hundreds of people in Mbita, Homa Bay County, as Konzer FM covers a radius of 26 kilometres.
The young man is passionate about radio, a dream he has had since childhood.
"I started my first radio station when I was in Class 4. The sound quality was poor because I was not using a multimeter despite projecting 200 milliwatts of power. I had to abandon it because the sound quality was poor.
"My current radio station has four stages with the first one being the moderation stage, then the pre-amplification stage, the third is the driver stage with the final one being the power amplification," he explained.
The student at Fr Tilen Secondary School set up the station at an abandoned water kiosk in the village where he reports in the morning to host a number of shows that he has lined up.
He does his all shows in Luo to reach most of the residents in Mbita and starts off the day with a gospel show and closes with a show that focuses on family life.
Odhiambo uses the radio transmitter that he assembled by himself to also pass educational messages and to entertain the community in Suba.
The station also advertises businesses in the community.
Fr Tilen Secondary School principal Martin Opere stated that the boy has shown great promise.
"He had enough time during the Covid-19 pandemic to assemble the station if we can get our leaders to support him at this level that would be wise.
"Sometimes you hear people saying that the Communications Authority of Kenya could have him arrested, but then he is under 18, he is not doing it to benefit him financially," he said.
Odhiambo has been able to hand jobs to two residents who work on his radio station.
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