After education opened doors in her own life, Nelly Cheboi left a successful software-engineering career to ensure children in rural Kenya could access technology, digital skills and greater possibilities.
Growing up in Mogotio, Nelly Cheboi understood what it meant to dream beyond the opportunities immediately around her.
Her family had limited resources, but her mother worked tirelessly to keep Nelly and her sisters in school. Through determination and academic excellence, Nelly earned a scholarship to attend Augustana College in Illinois, where she studied computer science and applied mathematics.
That opportunity changed the direction of her life.
Nelly became a software engineer in the United States, entering a profession that offered financial stability and possibilities she could once only imagine. Yet as her own world expanded, she continued thinking about children back home who were growing up without access to computers.
She decided that her success would not end with her.
Turning Opportunity Into a Mission
Nelly co-founded TechLit Africa, a nonprofit that establishes computer laboratories and teaches digital skills in rural Kenyan schools.
The organization collects used computers, prepares them for educational use and places them in schools where children may otherwise have little opportunity to interact with technology.
In 2019, Nelly stepped away from her software-engineering career to devote herself more fully to the mission. It was a bold decision: leaving a promising technology career to build digital opportunities in the community where her journey began.
Her goal was not simply to place computers inside classrooms. She wanted children to develop the confidence and practical abilities needed to participate in an increasingly digital world.
TechLit Africa’s project-based curriculum introduces students to skills such as typing, coding, internet use, graphic design and digital content creation. The organization also employs instructors who guide children as they learn, experiment and create.
Bringing Technology Into Rural Classrooms
For many children, encountering a computer early can influence how they imagine their future.
A student who learns to type, create a digital project or understand basic coding begins to see technology as something they can use—not something reserved for people in distant cities or other countries.
Through TechLit Africa, children receive hands-on learning during the school day. This approach is especially important in rural communities, where many students have household responsibilities that may prevent them from attending separate after-school programs.
By bringing the technology directly into schools, Nelly’s team makes digital education part of the children’s normal learning experience.
The organization had reached approximately 6,000 students across 15 schools by the time Nelly received her CNN recognition in 2022.
Behind every number is a child gaining the confidence to explore, solve problems and imagine a career that may not have seemed possible before.
From Software Engineer to CNN Hero
Nelly’s work received global recognition when she was named CNN’s 2022 Hero of the Year.
The honor celebrated her commitment to creating computer laboratories and expanding technology education for children in rural Kenya. She received the award alongside her mother—the woman whose sacrifice and belief in education helped make Nelly’s journey possible.
During the ceremony, Nelly acknowledged the selfless people who had supported her, describing her mother as the most selfless person in her life.
As Hero of the Year, she received a $100,000 grant to help expand TechLit Africa’s work, in addition to the award provided to each of that year’s Top 10 CNN Heroes.
The recognition placed Nelly’s story before a global audience, but its roots remained firmly in Mogotio.
Education That Continues Giving
Nelly’s journey demonstrates how one educational opportunity can create an impact far beyond one person.
A scholarship gave her access to university. Her university education led to a career in technology. That career gave her the knowledge and resources to return home with a solution for other children.
She transformed the opportunity she received into a pathway for thousands more.
Her model also gives used technology a meaningful second life. Computers that might otherwise be discarded can become learning tools in classrooms, allowing children to practice skills that will increasingly influence education, employment and entrepreneurship.
Through this work, Nelly is helping close more than a technology gap. She is challenging the distance between rural talent and global opportunity.
Why Nelly Cheboi’s Story Matters
At Sisi Kenya Spotlight, we celebrate Kenyans who remember where they came from and use their progress to create possibilities for others.
Nelly Cheboi’s story is one of education, courage and purposeful return.
She left Mogotio with a scholarship and returned with a vision. She moved from encountering computers later in her education to placing them in front of young children. She turned her experience as a software engineer into a mission that is helping rural students see themselves as future programmers, creators, entrepreneurs and problem-solvers.
For the children entering a TechLit Africa laboratory, a computer represents more than a machine. It is an introduction to a wider world—and an invitation to believe they belong in it.
Nelly’s life was transformed when someone invested in her education.
Now, through TechLit Africa, she is passing that opportunity forward—one classroom, one computer and one young dreamer at a time.
