Emergency charger

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Sixteen-year-old Sam Mackwell and his mates from St Thomas of Canterbury College have created a device that uses boiling water to charge cellphones, power a light and run a radio. They came up with the idea for the small generator after the first earthquake in Canterbury in September when electricity supplies were cut to much of the city. They call the device"The Lion"and hope to sell it in retail stores soon.