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Calvins Odhiambo, a Standard Eight leaver in Kericho, never dreamt of owning a car anytime soon.
But but the 20-year-old, who repairs motorcycles at KCC area now drives a “Jeep”, as he has named it, which he made from scrap material and a 150cc motorcycle engine.
The car is four-wheeled, but smaller than the three-wheeled motors popularly known as tuk tuk.
How he managed to pull a harmonious coordination among all the crucial parts that make up a motor vehicle is still a puzzle to his colleagues and locals.
That the car keys can actually ignite the engine while the steering wheel causes the four wheels to move harmoniously is no mean feat.
He fixed the six gears such that the reverse gear actually can perform just that role, so do the other gears.
“It all started like a joke. I collected scrap metal and started making a skeleton of the car body. Some said it will not amount to anything, but here I am. It took me three months to complete it,” said the shy mechanic.
He had then removed the engine of his Kingbird motorcycle and fixed it at the bonnet. With his daily income, he would buy other parts in bits including fuel gauge, head lights, wiring among others.
He also has all the indicators in place.
“I had a talent from when I was young. Fellow pupils used to report me to teachers that I was playing with items during class time, but it was just this innovativeness that was manifesting itself,” he said remembering how he had always wanted to be an engineer.
His big dream was, however, thwarted when he failed to proceed to secondary school due to lack of fees.
The firstborn in a family of six ended up at the garage where he was trained to be a mechanic.
Whereas his new car serves as a ray of hope that he might not have lost his dream completely, he does not have finances to go back to school and advance his skills, neither does he know the process one takes to begin manufacturing cars in particular.
“I lack money to come up with something of higher quality. To have this one running, I had to work extra hard to earn more,” he said. “If I had higher training I could come up with something bigger and better.”
If he were to sell his Jeep, it would cost not less than Sh300,000.
But he does not think of disposing it. He rides it home in the evening and back to work in the morning.
Police have not stopped him for lacking insurance cover or other licenses necessary.
“I have driven it from town to Brooke and Kapsoit. I drive it home every day. No police officer has stopped me,” he noted.
The top speed is 140kph.
Nairobi News left the young brain trying to make the fuel gauge work effectively.
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