Kelvin Doe could barely access electricity as an impoverished teenager in Sierra Leone, let alone listen to the latest mixes. But as a 14-year-old living in a recently war-torn region of Africa, Doe was able to scrounge up enough resources to engineer his own DJ setup, create a radio station and entertain others under the name DJ Focus.
So how did he do it?
Most people are familiar with the concept of “circuit bending,” the custom rewiring of circuitry in electronic devices such as video game consoles, children’s toys or digital synthesizers to create new instruments. As a self-educated inventor and engineer, Kelvin Doe took this notion to unimaginable levels.
Born October 26, 1996 in the destitute country of Sierra Leone, Kelvin Doe grew up with very little resources. In an interview he explained that electricity is scarce and only comes on once a week, the rest of the month spent in darkness. This explains his compelling efforts to create batteries and generators to light people’s homes.
At age 11, he began picking up electronic scraps and realized that something extraordinary could be constructed from these particles. After a long process of trial and error reverse engineering, he built a three-channel mixer, a sound amplifier and a microphone receiver. Combining all of these items together, he created his very own DJ setup.
PAULA AGUILERA/MIT MEDIA LAB
Around 14 years old, he made the commitment to empower his community and reach out to youth on a bigger scale. Creating his own FM station to broadcast news and music, he was soon picked up by a national station in Sierra Leone. International interest in Kelvin spiked as he became the youngest visiting practitioner at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and a guest presenter at The Harvard School of Engineering.
THNKR released a video in November 2012 chronicling Kelvin’s incredible story on YouTube. This video became a viral sensation, earning him the honor of presenting at TEDxTEEN (Ted Talks). The young and passionate efforts of genius Kelvin Doe remind us of the imaginative creativity within ourselves, and give us hope in the ability to overcome all limitations. When asked why he chose the name ‘DJ Focus,’ Kelvin responded “Because I believe if you focus, you can do an invention perfectly.”
“Creativity is universal and can be found in places where one does not expect to find it. And perseverance and passion are essential to nurturing that creative ability.” —Kelvin Doe
Share On
