By Mabinty M. Kamara
President Julius Maada Bio has congratulated a young Sierra Leonean innovator who has won himself a $ 100,000 Global student prize 2021, topping more than 3,500 applicants from 94 countries around the world.
21-year-old Jeremiah Thoronka, who invented a device that uses kinetic energy from traffic and pedestrians to generate clean power was announced the winner at a ceremony at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris on Wednesday 10 November 2010.
This is the maiden award and was started to give to exceptional students who have made real impacts on learning, the lives of their peers, and on society beyond.
Congratulating him in a video message, President Bio said that Thoronka was part of a new generation of students that Sierra Leone is investing in.
“They are scholars, dreamers, innovators, and entrepreneurs. That generation, I believe will help find answers to some of the great global challenges,” he said.
At 17, when studying at the African Leadership University in Rwanda, he launched a start-up called Optim Energy that transforms vibrations from vehicles and pedestrian footfall on roads into an electric current. It is different from established renewable energy sources including wind or solar because it generates power without relying on changeable weather. At the same time, no battery or electricity connection to an external power source is needed.
Optim Energy is said to have run a successful pilot programme in Jeremiah’s neighborhoods, Makawo in the northern part of Sierra Leone and Kuntoluh east of Freetown.
Energy poverty is a major issue in Sierra Leone – with just 26% of the population having access to electricity. In rural parts of the country, only 6% of people have electricity access, with most turning to solar lanterns and dry-cell batteries, Jeremiah is currently developing plans to expand into the healthcare sector, which needs the power to chill medicines and vaccines and create sufficient light for treating patients after dark.
Jeremiah is a United Nations Academic Impact Millennium Fellow and Optim Energy was voted the most Innovative Energy Start-up 2020 by United Nations Major Group on Children and Youth (UNMGCY), and the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 Youth Constituency.
Jeremiah is also one of the World Wildlife Fund’s top 100 Young African Conservation Leaders. He wants to use the prize money to expand Optim Energy to reach 100,000 people by 2030.
Many people congratulated Thoronka on his achievement.
Actor and humanitarian Hugh Jackman while congratulating him said students everywhere are part of a generation that are on the frontline of the greatest challenges of our time “from climate change to global inequality. So, we must listen to their voices and shine a light on their stories.”
“Congratulations Jeremiah. You have made an enormous difference to your community and far beyond. I am sure that you will now use this incredible platform to make an even bigger impact,” he said.
Dan Rosensweig, CEO & President of Chegg.org, a partner organization to Varkey Foundation to create the new Global Student Prize, expressed congratulations to the young innovator.
“His inspirational work in pioneering clean, affordable energy makes him a thoroughly deserving winner of the inaugural Chegg.org Global Student Prize. This prize honors students everywhere. While many stakeholders are busy debating, students like Jeremiah are busy doing. They truly are the change-maker our world needs,” he said.
In congratulating Jeremiah, Sunny Varkey, Founder of the Varkey Foundation, noted the importance of education in tackling the great challenges of the world.
Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, said UNESCO was a proud host of this year’s Global Teacher Prize ceremony at their headquarters in Paris.
“Inspirational teachers and extraordinary students alike deserve recognition for their commitment to education amid the learning crisis we see today. Now more than ever, we must honor and support our teachers and students as they look to rebuild a better world in the wake of COVID,” he said.
The Varkey Foundation launched the Chegg.org Global Student Prize earlier this year, a sister award to its $1 million Global Teacher Prize, to create a powerful new platform that shines a light on the efforts of extraordinary students everywhere who, together, are reshaping our world for the better. The prize is open to all students who are at least 16 years old and enrolled in an academic institution or training and skills program. Part-time students, as well as students enrolled in online courses, are also eligible for the prize. This year also saw the US teacher Keishia Thorpe named the winner.
Copyright © Politico Online 12/11/21
