Nigerian student’s mobile app helps lost children find their way home

Tomisin Ogunnubi was only 12 when she saw a problem she needed to solve. In her community, children were increasingly getting lost.

With this growing desire to help these children find their way home, Tomisin started working on an app under the guidance of an Information and Communications Technology partnership, between her school, Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls, and New Horizons Computer Learning Center.

Tomisin acquired the necessary skills to develop the app, known as My Locator.

The Android mobile tracking app has “a current location” setting which helps the child know where they are and the neighbouring streets around them.

The app also allows children to save a location, for instance, their house or school, and will direct them to the saved location from wherever they are.

The My Locator App also features an ‘alert’ button, which when pressed will alert the Lagos State Emergency Services.

The app will call the services as well as show the child’s location so that they can get the help they need.

Scores of parents have already downloaded the app on their Android phones and have since recommended it to others.

Ogunnubi recently graduated with 16 merit awards in subjects like Mathematics, English, French and Science and Technology, including being named as the best graduating student of the year.

The young app creator, now 14,  has since been encouraging kids on how to be creative in their own way.