· Vol. 62
· No. 8
Can-Do Kids
By Richard Jerome, Danielle Dubin
They Bring Water to Africa, Hope to the Sick and Homeless, Technology to the Poor. And They're Just Children—Proving That Big Hearts Come in Small Packages
Jacob Komar
Got an old computer? He'll rebuild it—then give it to the poor
A trip down memory lane with Jacob Komar: At 2, he first typed DOS commands on a
computer. At 4, he read his first computer manual. At 6, he could dismantle and
build a computer. Detect a theme here? At 9, Jacob topped himself: He started a
program to refurbish discarded computers and give them away to needy families
near his home outside Hartford, Conn. Soon to be a University of Hartford
sophomore—at 12—he has doled out some 200 machines so far. "People ask, 'Don't
you want money?'" Jacob says. "I mean, that's the whole idea. It's free."