The Sunday Mail
Tafadzwa Kadani
Being born with Asperger’s syndrome and dyslexia can put one on the fringers of society. The dreams other children have are not yours. You are not considered “normal”.
Such was the case with Tendayi Sailas Machakaire, Zimbabwe’s and Southern Africa’s first black man to ever patent an invention.
The most visible signs of Asperger’s syndrome include the lack of basic skills, for example the ability to socialise and use of imagination. People with Asperger’s syndrome also experience repetitive behaviour.
Despite these traits, people with Asperger’s syndrome have shown they have brilliant minds and a great drive to succeed.
Examples of people who had Asperger’s Syndrome include William Henry Gate III, chairman of Microsoft, Albert Einstein the famous theoretical physicist, Sir Isaac Newton and Wolfgang Mozart, to mention only but a few.
Mr Machakaire was born in Murewa, Mashonaland East, but then relocated to Harare’s oldest suburb, Mbare, where he then grew up and did his primary education.
“I did my primary education at the Dutch Reformed Church Primary for my Sub-A, then Methodist in Harare Primary for my Sub-B, and Nharira Primary . . . I learnt up to Standard Six and couldn’t proceed.”
To make things worse, he was not born with dyslexia and Asperger’s Syndrome only, but he also developed very bad eyesight due to an injury on the eye, so bad that he could not go on with his schooling because he couldn’t read.
“Just when I was supposed
to start at Goromonzi High School, I was told I couldn’t
continue with my schooling because I could not read for myself due to my poor
eyesight,” said the soft-spoken Machakaire.
Dyslexia is a general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence.
He then got mentorship in motor mechanics from Mr Cosum Kamudyariwa who was a clerk at Nharira Primary School who had a passion for
motor mechanics but couldn’t be one.
“I always had a passion to be a mechanic, I did not get formal training to be one but through observation as others did it and with the help of Kamudyariwa it just worked out,” explained Mr Machakaire.
“I did not despair, jobs where not so hard to get back then so I had to look for jobs and I must say I was always a controversial employee.”
The first invention, though it was not patented, was when he was working at a local company that manufactured wallets.
He managed to figure out how to join four pieces at one time using one machine, a process that needed four machines to complete the wallet.
“This impressed the manager and he got rid of the other employees and gave me a pay raise.
“However, controversy came when I was taken to court on charges of having a salary way above my age, but I was acquitted and that was the last time I worked there.”
His first ever invention/patent was when he was 23 years old in 1965. He invented a multiple valve lift, the patent was then officially published when he was 25 years old.
He then went to the United Kingdom in England and that
is where the British Council funded his education for him to study for his degree in Engineering.
“I studied at Hastings College for a degree in Mechanical Production Engineering.
“It wasn’t easy for a person who had no O-Level or A-Level but I managed to pull through,” added Machakaire.
Other patents that he drew include silencers that were extra silent, a patent to improve valve timing while the car was in transit.
“To date I have many patents but I haven’t published them, I will copyright them and publish them as one book,” said Machakaire.
“I would have loved to do a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD) but I was told I could not get a supervisor because of my experience, so I now help some doing their Masters or
even PhD,” added Mr Machakaire.
Presently Mr Machakaire has a vision to build a school for those that have Asperger’s and dyslexia and have been discarded by society.
“I believe we people are unique and also harbour great ideas that can change our nation,” said Mr Machakaire.
He also wants to go into intellectual property sharing where he will put all his patents in one book and share with other unemployed people to create employment.
He is also part of the Inventors Association in Sweden and
also has a research company in the United Kingdom called Mectensil Research and Development.
Mr Machakaire is also targeting the arts industry saying he wants to equip the visual artists in Zimbabwe on how to make money out of art.
“When I first got to the United Kingdom I did art and drew some portraits that earned me more money than I had
ever made thus I want to help those in our country,” said Machakaire.
