Nelly Cheboi, who creates computer labs for Kenyan schoolchildren, is CNN's Hero of the Year - CNN

CNN  — 

Nelly Cheboi, who successful 2019 discontinue a lucrative bundle engineering occupation successful Chicago to make machine labs for Kenyan schoolchildren, is the 2022 CNN Hero of the Year.

Online voters selected her from among this year’s Top 10 CNN Heroes.

Cheboi’s nonprofit, TechLit Africa, has provided thousands of students crossed agrarian Kenya with entree to donated, upcycled computers — and the accidental astatine a brighter future.

Cheboi accepted the grant with her mother, who she said “worked truly hard to amended us.” At the opening of her acceptance speech, Cheboi and her parent sang a opus onstage that she explained had a peculiar meaning erstwhile she was increasing up.

As CNN Hero of the Year, Cheboi volition person $100,000 to grow her work. She and the different apical 10 CNN Heroes honored astatine Sunday’s gala each person a $10,000 currency grant and, for the archetypal time, further grants, organizational grooming and enactment from The Elevate Prize Foundation done a caller collaboration with CNN Heroes. Nelly volition besides beryllium named an Elevate Prize winner, which comes with a $300,000 assistance and further enactment worthy $200,000 for her nonprofit.

Cheboi grew up successful poorness successful Mogotio, a agrarian township successful Kenya. “I cognize the symptom of poverty,” said Cheboi, 29. “I ne'er forgot what it was similar with my tummy churning due to the fact that of hunger astatine night.”

A hard-working student, Cheboi received a afloat assistance to Augustana College successful Illinois successful 2012. She began her studies determination with astir nary acquisition with computers, handwriting papers and struggling to transcribe them onto a laptop.

Everything changed successful her inferior year, though, erstwhile Cheboi took a programming people required for her mathematics major.

“When I discovered machine science, I conscionable fell successful emotion with it. I knew that this is thing that I wanted to bash arsenic my career, and besides bring it to my community,” she told CNN.

Many basal machine skills were inactive a steep learning curve, however. Cheboi remembers having to signifier touch-typing for six months earlier she could walk a coding interview. Touch-typing is simply a accomplishment that is present a halfway portion of the TechLit curriculum.

“I consciousness truthful accomplished seeing kids that are 7 years aged touch-typing, knowing that I conscionable learned however to touch-type little than 5 years ago,” she said.

Once she had begun moving successful the bundle industry, Cheboi soon realized the grade of which computers were being thrown distant arsenic companies upgraded their exertion infrastructure.

“We person kids present (in Kenya) — myself included, backmost successful the time — who don’t adjacent cognize what a machine is,” she said.

So, successful 2018, she began transporting donated computers backmost to Kenya — successful her idiosyncratic luggage, handling customs fees and taxes herself.

“At 1 point, I was bringing 44 computers, and I paid much for the luggage than I did for the aerial ticket,” she said.

A twelvemonth later, she co-founded TechLit Africa with a chap bundle technologist aft some discontinue their jobs. The nonprofit accepts machine donations from companies, universities and individuals.

The hardware is wiped and refurbished earlier it’s shipped to Kenya. There, it’s distributed to spouse schools successful agrarian communities, wherever students ages 4 to 12 person regular classes and predominant opportunities to larn from professionals, gaining skills that volition assistance amended their acquisition and amended hole them for aboriginal jobs.

“We person radical who ain a circumstantial accomplishment coming successful and are conscionable inspiring the kids (with) euphony production, video production, coding, idiosyncratic branding,” Cheboi said. “They tin spell from doing a distant people with NASA connected acquisition to euphony production.”

The enactment presently serves 10 schools; wrong the adjacent year, Cheboi hopes to beryllium partnered with 100 more.

“My anticipation is that erstwhile the archetypal TechLit kids postgraduate precocious school, they’re capable to get a occupation online due to the fact that they volition cognize however to code, they volition cognize however to bash graphic design, they volition cognize however to bash marketing,” Cheboi said. “The satellite is your oyster erstwhile you are educated. By bringing the resources, by bringing these skills, we are opening up the satellite to them.”

CNN’s Anderson Cooper and ABC’s Kelly Ripa co-hosted the 16th Annual “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” which featured much than a twelve personage presenters.

“We’re truthful profoundly honored to beryllium here,” said histrion and vocalist Sofia Carson, who perfomed a opus with award-winning songwriter Diane Warren astatine the event. “Diane wrote this unthinkable anthem ‘Applause’ for those leading, surviving and warring and contiguous we dedicate this opus and show to our heroes.”

Actor Aubrey Plaza introduced CNN Hero Aidan Reilly, who launched his nonprofit portion location from assemblage during the aboriginal months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“From his pandemic couch, Aidan and his friends co-founded Farmlink Project,” Plaza said. The nonprofit connects excess nutrient from farms crossed the US – nutrient that would different beryllium wasted – to those who request it. “In conscionable 2 years, helium .. has moved much than 70 cardinal pounds,” Plaza added.

Debra Vines – whose nonprofit The Answer Inc. supports families impacted by autism successful underserved communities crossed Chicago – was honored by histrion Holly Robinson Peete, a “fellow autism mom.”

Vines says her radical has provided programming and guidance to much than 4,000 families. “Join maine and beryllium a servant for the alteration today,” Vines said erstwhile accepting her award.

And Emmy award-winning histrion Justin Theroux brought his rescue canine Kuma, connected the signifier to grant Carie Broecker ​​and her nonprofit, Peace of Mind Dog Rescue.

Two teenagers making a quality successful their communities were besides honored arsenic 2022 Young Wonders:

Ruby Chitsey, a 15-year-old from Harrison, Arkansas, started “Three Wishes for Ruby’s Residents,” which donates idiosyncratic items to nursing location residents who couldn’t different spend them.

Sri Nihal Tammana, a 13-year-old from Edison, New Jersey, started “Recycle My Battery,” which keeps utilized batteries retired of the ecosystem done a web of postulation bins.

The amusement besides honored two Georgia canvass workers, Shaye Moss and her parent Ruby Freeman, whose lives were upended aft mendacious allegations that they had been progressive successful predetermination fraud dispersed connected societal media.

CNN has partnered with GoFundMe to alteration donations to this year’s Top 10 honorees. GoFundMe is the world’s largest fundraising level that empowers radical and charities to springiness and person help. Supporters tin marque online donations to the Top 10 CNN Heroes’ non-profit organizations straight from CNNHeroes.com. Subaru is matching each donations up to $50,000 for each of this year’s honorees done January 3, 2023.

Do you cognize idiosyncratic successful your assemblage doing astonishing things to marque the satellite a amended place? Keep an oculus connected CNN.com/heroes and see nominating that idiosyncratic arsenic a CNN Hero successful 2023. You tin besides work much astir galore of the 350 past CNN Heroes who person helped implicit 55 cardinal radical crossed each 50 US states and successful much than 110 countries astir the world.