No sim nor airtime needed for calls, Namibian student builds this phone from scrap

From telephone and television parts, a Namibian high school student, Simon Petrus has invented a mobile phone that has an in-built television set, a radio, a light bulb, a fan, including sockets to charge other devices.

It also makes uninterrupted calls where there are radio frequencies without the use of sim cards or airtime, and it is charged using an in-built radiator.

This invention was discovered in July at a regional school technology competition where he won for his rural school, Abraham Iyambo Senior Secondary School, in the Ohangwena Region in Namibia.

The Grade 12 student told a local media, newera.com.na that his unemployed parents sourced funds to make his two-year old project, which costs about USD 147, a success.

Simon Petrus has qualified for the national finals of the competition where he is the reigning champion for his two-in-one machine that dries and cools seeds.

“When he won last year some judges were of the opinion that there was an engineer at home who was helping him. But the only help he has is from us the teachers here at school. He came up with his own project,” his science teacher, Taimi Vatileni, told the website.

Petrus is an average learner and aspires to become an electronics engineer after he completes Grade 12, his teacher added.