Rangwe TVC: YuniCodeNAI Tour Opens the TVET Chapter as First-Time Coders Build Real Projects with AI | Somo Tech Literacy Centre (STLC)
Somo Tech Literacy Centre (STLC), formerly SomoTech Africa. TVET students at Rangwe Technical and Vocational Center in Homa Bay built real projects with...
What if the students who have never touched a line of code before are the ones who will build Kenya's next big solutions?
That is exactly what we saw on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, at Rangwe Technical and Vocational Center (TVC) in Homa Bay County. SomoTech Africa continued its nationwide YuniCodeNAI tour, and the energy in the room was unmatched. TVET students arrived curious, stayed hungry to learn, and left as builders.
CLOSING THE UNIVERSITY CHAPTER, OPENING THE TVET CHAPTER
The Rangwe visit marks a turning point for the tour. After a successful run across universities and colleges, SomoTech Africa is closing the university chapter and opening a new one focused on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions. The tour is delivered in partnership with Goodwall and the NextGenAI Alliance, and every stop so far has been inspiring.
TVET institutions train the hands-on, practical talent that Kenya's economy depends on. Yet many of their students have had little or no exposure to coding or artificial intelligence. The YuniCodeNAI tour exists to change that.
FROM NEVER OPENING A CODE EDITOR TO BUILDING REAL PROJECTS
At Rangwe TVC, many students had never opened a code editor before. By the end of the session, they were building real projects. Using GitHub Copilot as a learning partner, they turned ideas into working digital solutions, and they documented their journeys on Goodwall for the world to see.
The session showed what happens when AI stops feeling like a distant, complicated technology and becomes a simple tool in a young person's hands. Students asked questions, tested ideas, debugged their work when it broke, and kept going until it ran. Several stayed back after the session to ask "one more question."
That moment is why we do this. When AI becomes simple and within reach, it changes everything.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Across Kenya, many young people hear that AI is coming for their jobs. The YuniCodeNAI tour tells a different story.
"AI is not coming to take anyone's future. It is giving our young people a shortcut to their own, if we just show them how to use it," said Chrisphine Okoth Ogallo, Founder and CEO of SomoTech Africa.
The tour is built on a few simple beliefs:
- Access should not depend on location. A student in a rural TVET deserves the same exposure to AI tools as a student in a major city.
- Learning by building works. Students understand technology best when they use it to make something of their own.
- Visibility opens doors. By documenting their work on Goodwall, students build a public record of their skills that mentors, employers and opportunities can find.
- Starting from zero is not a disadvantage. SomoTech Africa itself was founded by a young Kenyan who learned to code from scratch through app-based courses and challenges.
OUR PARTNERS
This progress is thanks to the organisations that believe in Kenyan youth. Goodwall and the NextGenAI Alliance have been central to the TVET chapter, giving students a platform to share their learning with a global audience. GitHub provided the tools that let beginners build with the help of AI, and Lovable supported students in bringing their ideas to life. We are deeply grateful to all of them.
RANGWE IS JUST THE BEGINNING
We are not stopping here. Rangwe was just the beginning for the Lake Region. This cannot be only a university and college story. We want youth in every county and every TVET institution to know that AI is within their reach.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: AN INVITATION TO DONORS AND PARTNERS
Taking this work to more of Kenya takes resources, and we are inviting donors, foundations, corporate partners and individual supporters to join us. Your support can help us to:
- Bring hands-on AI and coding sessions to more TVET institutions in more counties.
- Provide devices, internet access and learning materials where students lack them.
- Support the trainers, mentors and facilitators who guide first-time coders.
- Create follow-up learning pathways so a single session becomes a lasting skill.
- Help students document their work and build visible portfolios that connect them to real opportunities.
Every contribution helps put a young person in a position to build, earn and lead in Kenya's digital future. The students at Rangwe have shown what is possible when they are given the chance. You can support this work through the Donate option on our website, or contact our team to discuss a partnership.
A MESSAGE TO THE STUDENTS OF RANGWE TVC
To every Rangwe TVC student who stayed back to ask "one more question," who debugged until it worked, and who showed up even when it was tough: this is for you. Keep building. We are just getting started.
KNOW A TVET, YOUTH GROUP OR COMMUNITY THAT SHOULD BE NEXT?
Talk to us. We are taking this to more of Kenya, and we want you to be part of it. If you know a TVET institution, youth group or community that should be next on the tour, or you would like to support this work as a donor or partner, get in touch with the SomoTech Africa team through our website or social media channels.
ABOUT SOMOTECH AFRICA
SomoTech Africa is a Kenya-based EdTech and social impact organisation founded in 2024. It builds accessible digital learning tools and creates opportunities that prepare young Kenyans for the future of work, with a focus on communities that are too often left out of the technology conversation.
ABOUT THE YUNICODENAI TOUR
YuniCodeNAI is SomoTech Africa's nationwide coding and AI tour, delivered with Goodwall and the NextGenAI Alliance. It takes practical, hands-on AI learning directly to students, starting with universities and now expanding to TVET institutions across Kenya.
Thank you to Goodwall, GitHub and Lovable for standing with Kenyan youth.