Caleb Lawrence has been taking apart computers, phones and laptops since he was old enough to turn a screwdriver.
When he was five, he would walk around his neighbourhood asking if people had any old devices he could have to dismantle.
Caleb was fascinated by seeing how they worked.
“When I was in year six, my friend had a broken phone so I offered to fix it for free,” he said.
“I learnt how to fix it myself from taking apart old phones I’d been collecting over the years.
“I fixed this guy’s phone and realised I could start a business doing this.”
Caleb Lawrence used to walk around his neighbourhood asking people for their old devices. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)
After running a small, profitable and legally-registered business, Caleb decided to use his skills for a charitable project.
“Now, my business specialises in taking old devices that would have been scrapped for e-waste, refurbishing them and sending them overseas for missions to support churches, orphanages and any other organisations that need some help,” he said.
“I saw the issue of e-waste being destroyed and buried in landfill and I thought I could repurpose it and send it overseas where it’s needed the most.”
Some of Caleb’s devices were sent to Myanmar. (Supplied: Richard Utber)
Refurbishing items bound for e-waste
Caleb sources the devices from schools and businesses around where he lives in Nowra on the New South Wales south coast.
So far, he has sent more than 100 devices to Ethiopia, Cambodia and the Solomon Islands.
“Usually they have to pay to take it [e-waste] away, but me taking it for free is a service for them,” Caleb said.
“I get the fulfilment and knowledge that my work has benefited people across the world and it’s made a real impact on many people’s lives and changed their outlook for the better.
“A lot of people in my year aren’t interested in this kind of thing so it’s definitely walking a different path to the norm.”
Principal Lorrae Sampson says Caleb is “quite entrepreneurial and humble” about his work. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)
A humble entrepreneur
Caleb’s school principal at Nowra Anglican College is Lorrae Sampson.
She said she had had no idea he was fixing laptops to be sent overseas until he emailed her a photo of someone using one of his devices.
“Caleb epitomises for me the attributes of perseverance and being an incredibly resilient young man, and he’s quite entrepreneurial and humble about it all,” Ms Sampson said.
Caleb provides a service to local businesses by taking away unwanted e-waste. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)
“We try to promote social justice in our school and encourage our students to do something that will improve the world.
“This is taking that to the next level, where he’s making the life of someone in a Third World country better.”