Boy, 16, makes toys from scrap wires
A 16-YEAR-old boy from Agincourt in Mpumalanga is making a name for himself with his built-up toy vehicles made from scrap, which operate almost like the real thing.
Run off a cellphone battery, a long-wheel base bakkie, Loud Majobe made from scrap plastic and discarded wiring, clatters away to the amusement of local residents of this town near Bushbuckridge.
What makes Majobe’s invention even more remarkable is that he struggles academically, but as his unemployed 40-year-old mother, Tlangelani Mhlongo, points out, her son has magic in his hands.
The budding 16-year-old engineer said he picks his material to build his vehicles in public waste dumps.
“I target the spots where mechanics throw their waste to pick up old generators and rejected wires.
“Although we do not own a car at home, but because I am in to this, I find myself doing it,” he said.
Majobe’s mother disclosed that her son, one of five children, was always in tune with wiring from an early age.
“From as early as seven-years-old, Loud played around only with wires and cables and tubing pipes… you would not send him anywhere or talk to him to get his attention.
“Over time he became popular in our village for helping other children with their school projects because they wanted the best quality.
“Two years ago his teacher called me and told me just how creative my son was. I can only be glad because I am very proud of him, but it saddens me that he does not do well in his school books,” Mhlongo said.
Mhlongo said she felt that her son’s talent may be misplaced in an ordinary school but, said finding him a place in a science-focused or technical school was beyond her as she battled to sustain her family.
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