Bright Selikumah is a 14-year-old student at Otinibi Basic School who “has dazzled the staff and students” with his technical skills and inventions, according to a recent report in the Graphic Online, a local news outlet. The aptly named young man eats daily meals at the Food for People (FFP) facility, which he credits for helping fuel his success. Alex Wiredu, acting as correspondent for The Prem Rawat Foundation, recently interviewed Bright:
Before the FFP canteen opened, were you having a hard time getting food to eat?
Sometimes it was really hard for me to get food to eat; other times it was all right. I do not live with my parents because they relocated to a distant town. In fact, l decided to stay back and live with my aunty now at Amahia, a village 10 kilometers from Otinibi, because l did not want to miss my friends and especially the nutritious meals at the canteen.
The food is good. Walking and conversing with my friends while going to the canteen to eat makes me very happy.
After eating a good meal at the FFP facility, how do you feel about your school activities and inventions?
I feel very focused and able to concentrate in class. This makes me happy to come to school everyday. About my inventions—taking a good meal at the canteen helps me to think deeply. That’s how l get my ideas.
What inventions have you been working on?
I like to dismantle and rearrange electronic gadgets. In all l have put together eight inventions. I built a miniature airplane and a car using kinetic energy, a frequency modulation transistor radio, a hand vacuum cleaner, and an intruder detector, to mention a few. At the moment, l am working on a wooden vehicle that l can use in real life.
Which is your favorite invention?
The wooden vehicle. It is costly, but l am very excited. It’s my hope that l will get help from kindhearted people who will like my invention. When l finish it, l will have created my own means of transportation and the difficulty of trekking the 10 kilometers to school will be over.
Do you do anything to earn money?
No, l am just a student trying to do my best in school and trying to focus on my inventions.
If given the chance to go to a technical or advanced school, what would you like to study?
A combination of electrical, electronic, and mechanical engineering. If given the opportunity, l would like to be a mechanical engineer.
What is your dream?
My dream is to have a team that has enough resources to build spaceships, airplanes, ships, vehicles, and factory machines that will use water as fuel, replacing the oil we use now that emits fumes that pollute the air we breathe.
What would you say to the donors around the world who support the FFP facility?
l am grateful to them all. The food l eat from the canteen is nutritious, and it also helps to keep me healthy. These people do not know us, but they are helping to mold our future. God will bless them all.
