{"id":1684,"date":"2026-02-10T19:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T19:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=1684"},"modified":"2026-02-10T19:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T19:08:11","slug":"nelly-cheboi-who-creates-computer-labs-for-kenyan-schoolchildren-is-cnns-hero-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=1684","title":{"rendered":"Nelly Cheboi, who creates computer labs for Kenyan schoolchildren, is CNN\u2019s Hero of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n CNN<\/span>
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\n Nelly Cheboi<\/a>, who in 2019 quit a lucrative software engineering job in Chicago to create computer labs for Kenyan schoolchildren, is the 2022 CNN Hero of the Year.\n <\/p>\n

\n Online voters selected her from among this year\u2019s Top 10 CNN Heroes<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n Cheboi\u2019s nonprofit, TechLit Africa, has provided thousands of students across rural Kenya with access to donated, upcycled computers \u2014 and the chance at a brighter future.\n <\/p>\n

\n Cheboi accepted the award with her mother, who she said \u201cworked really hard to educate us.\u201d At the beginning of her acceptance speech, Cheboi and her mother sang a song onstage that she explained had a special meaning when she was growing up.\n <\/p>\n

\n As CNN Hero of the Year, Cheboi will receive $100,000 to expand her work. She and the other top 10 CNN Heroes honored at Sunday\u2019s gala all receive a $10,000 cash award and, for the first time, additional grants, organizational training and support from The Elevate Prize Foundation through a new collaboration with CNN Heroes. Nelly will also be named an Elevate Prize winner, which comes with a $300,000 grant and additional support worth $200,000 for her nonprofit.\n <\/p>\n

\n Cheboi grew up in poverty in Mogotio, a rural township in Kenya. \u201cI know the pain of poverty,\u201d said Cheboi, 29. \u201cI never forgot what it was like with my stomach churning because of hunger at night.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n A hard-working student, Cheboi received a full scholarship to Augustana College in Illinois in 2012. She began her studies there with almost no experience with computers, handwriting papers and struggling to transcribe them onto a laptop.\n <\/p>\n

\n Everything changed in her junior year, though, when Cheboi took a programming course required for her mathematics major.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen I discovered computer science, I just fell in love with it. I knew that this is something that I wanted to do as my career, and also bring it to my community,\u201d she told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n Many basic computer skills were still a steep learning curve, however. Cheboi remembers having to practice touch-typing for six months before she could pass a coding interview. Touch-typing is a skill that is now a core part of the TechLit curriculum.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI feel so accomplished seeing kids that are 7 years old touch-typing, knowing that I just learned how to touch-type less than five years ago,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Once she had begun working in the software industry, Cheboi soon realized the extent of which computers were being thrown away as companies upgraded their technology infrastructure.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe have kids here (in Kenya) \u2014 myself included, back in the day \u2014 who don\u2019t even know what a computer is,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n

\n So, in 2018, she began transporting donated computers back to Kenya \u2014 in her personal luggage, handling customs fees and taxes herself.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAt one point, I was bringing 44 computers, and I paid more for the luggage than I did for the air ticket,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n

\n A year later, she co-founded TechLit Africa with a fellow software engineer after both quit their jobs. The nonprofit accepts computer donations from companies, universities and individuals.\n <\/p>\n

\n The hardware is wiped and refurbished before it\u2019s shipped to Kenya. There, it\u2019s distributed to partner schools in rural communities, where students ages 4 to 12 receive daily classes and frequent opportunities to learn from professionals, gaining skills that will help improve their education and better prepare them for future jobs.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe have people who own a specific skill coming in and are just inspiring the kids (with) music production, video production, coding, personal branding,\u201d Cheboi said. \u201cThey can go from doing a remote class with NASA on education to music production.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The organization currently serves 10 schools; within the next year, Cheboi hopes to be partnered with 100 more.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cMy hope is that when the first TechLit kids graduate high school, they\u2019re able to get a job online because they will know how to code, they will know how to do graphic design, they will know how to do marketing,\u201d Cheboi said. \u201cThe world is your oyster when you are educated. By bringing the resources, by bringing these skills, we are opening up the world to them.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

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Watch the moment CNN’s Hero of the Year is announced\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Watch the moment CNN’s Hero of the Year is announced<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

01:30
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\n An inspiring night of heroism and advocacy
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\n CNN\u2019s Anderson Cooper and ABC\u2019s Kelly Ripa co-hosted the 16th Annual \u201cCNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,\u201d which featured more than a dozen celebrity presenters.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe\u2019re so deeply honored to be here,\u201d said actress and singer Sofia Carson, who perfomed a song with award-winning songwriter Diane Warren at the event. \u201cDiane wrote this incredible anthem \u2018Applause\u2019 for those leading, surviving and fighting and tonight we dedicate this song and performance to our heroes.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Actor Aubrey Plaza introduced CNN Hero Aidan Reilly<\/a>, who launched his nonprofit while home from college during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cFrom his pandemic couch, Aidan and his friends co-founded Farmlink Project,\u201d Plaza said. The nonprofit connects excess food from farms across the US \u2013 food that would otherwise be wasted \u2013 to those who need it. \u201cIn just two years, he .. has moved more than 70 million pounds,\u201d Plaza added.\n <\/p>\n

\n Debra Vines<\/a> \u2013 whose nonprofit The Answer Inc. supports families impacted by autism in underserved communities across Chicago \u2013 was honored by actress Holly Robinson Peete, a \u201cfellow autism mom.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Vines says her group has provided programming and guidance to more than 4,000 families. \u201cJoin me and be a servant for the change today,\u201d Vines said when accepting her award.\n <\/p>\n

\n And Emmy award-winning actor Justin Theroux brought his rescue dog Kuma, on the stage to honor Carie Broecker<\/a> \u200b\u200band her nonprofit, Peace of Mind Dog Rescue.\n <\/p>\n

\n Two teenagers making a difference in their communities were also honored as 2022 Young Wonders:\n <\/p>\n

\n Ruby Chitsey, a 15-year-old from Harrison, Arkansas, started \u201cThree Wishes for Ruby\u2019s Residents,\u201d which donates personal items to nursing home residents who couldn\u2019t otherwise afford them.\n <\/p>\n

\n Sri Nihal Tammana, a 13-year-old from Edison, New Jersey, started \u201cRecycle My Battery,\u201d which keeps used batteries out of the ecosystem through a network of collection bins.\n <\/p>\n

\n The show also honored two Georgia poll workers<\/a>, Shaye Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman, whose lives were upended after false allegations that they had been involved in election fraud spread on social media.\n <\/p>\n

\n CNN has partnered with GoFundMe to enable donations to this year\u2019s Top 10 honorees<\/a>. GoFundMe is the world\u2019s largest fundraising platform that empowers people and charities to give and receive help. Supporters can make online donations to the Top 10 CNN Heroes\u2019 non-profit organizations directly from CNNHeroes.com. Subaru is matching all donations up to $50,000 for each of this year\u2019s honorees through January 3, 2023.\n <\/p>\n

\n Do you know someone in your community doing amazing things to make the world a better place? Keep an eye on CNN.com\/heroes<\/a> and consider nominating that person as a CNN Hero in 2023. You can also read more about many of the 350 past CNN Heroes who have helped over 55 million people across all 50 US states and in more than 110 countries around the world.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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