We Are Who We Believe And Work Hard To Be!
As I draw more inspiration from SwahiliBox’s successful community members and the places they are getting to, I recall, the beloved and late Kofi Annan once saying that, “To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.”
Today is one of those days that I get to be proud of living because among many other reasons and blessings, I am overly elated to have had the honour of guiding Mary Bahati — who finished form 4 last year from Mtongwe Girls Secondary School in Mtongwe, Likoni, and who is one the best students we’ve had the privilege of training at MakersHub, SwahiliBox Ladies and SwahliBox — to securing a one year immersive training sponsorship award by AkiraChix into the codeHive program class of 2019 to which she’ll be receiving a full scholarship.
The program itself is a very intense and hands on technical training comprised of a mixture of life skills and technology spanning mobile app development, python programming, hardware, graphics design, front end development and entrepreneurship, estimated to be worth $5,100 (FYI, even my undergraduate degree at JKUAT for 4 years wasn’t half of this!). The scholarship covers tuition throughout the one year of training, accommodation, medical insurance, travel and amenities. We are extremely proud of Mary because she deserves the opportunity and are thankful and happy that she got it! It’s a rare chance and coming from a poor background and insecure community in Likoni, we have every confidence that she will make the most of this new opportunity to create many new doors to economic prospects for herself and others in her community.
Having known Mary Bahati (Check out her App Pitch during last year’s Technovation Challenge) for more than a year, we’ve seen her evolve from a tech illiterate girl to one capable of ideating and developing a mobile app meant to address a community problem, coordinating marketing and business strategy for app launch and demo, formulating a business plan, financial forecasting, pitching and presenting concepts to different audiences. Her new gained confidence and amateur tech knowledge was inspirational to all of us at SwahiliBox, which is the root initiative that gave birth to other outstanding socially impactful programs like MakersHub and SwahiliBox Ladies from which Mary has been a beneficiary and one of the Techpreneurship Ambassadors across the high schools we work with.
Mary’s journey so far moves us and makes us appreciate the power of faith, that one person or two or three who believe in you and most importantly, self-belief and confidence can make a difference. Our Founder and former Executive Director always reminds us that attitude makes a difference and so does Oprah Winfrey “A person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.” There’s a lot we can learn as long as we have a growth mind-set from people who are making it against all odds and have refused to be defined by their circumstances.
I remember how despite being disappointed when she found out the grade she got in her KCSE exams and the concern she had on her face as to whether she’d get to pursue the higher education track of her choice given the outcome, she surprising still held on to self-belief, looked me straight in the eyes and spoke these exact words, “Madam, I hope you know that these grades are not a reflection of my intellectual capacity and potential. I am honestly capable of so much and willing to put in the effort required to achieve my dreams if you can help me look for alternatives and continue to guide me. After all, you once told us that Mahatma Gandhi once said — ‘ If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.’ — and this is what I have held on to for motivation as I push forward in life!”
As Mary prepares to travel to Nairobi to enroll into an amazing program and to join what will for the next year be a new home with AkiraChix, I feel a sense of unexplained pride and accomplishment. It’s rewarding to see that the determination and struggle we put into sustaining the existence of SwahiliBox actually coming to fruition no matter how small the pace. SwahiliBox is and will always be about the people and for the people, and as Mary Bahati loves to quote from the man of the people and former president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek”, at SwahiliBox, we pride ourselves in building the right attitudes and nurturing responsibility, integrity, originality, creativity, positive values and the strong spirit of volunteerism. It’s these exact values that made Mary Bahati stand out and win the scholarship which is awarded on a competitive basis.
We are also proud of the exposure that we give to our community members putting them at the core of all our programs and activities. This gives them a sense of belonging and ownership. SwahiliBox community members know that SwahiliBox is what they make it to be; a reflection of their hard work, dreams and ideas set into motion. So, as we take a moment to celebrate Mary, let us remember that true, sustainable, and impactful change takes unwavering dedication, patience, perseverance and steadfast will power. It just needs to start somewhere and with someone.
We are equally proud and hence take this opportunity as well to acknowledge and appreciate the hard work and efforts of some of our amazing community members (both present and Alumni) with whom SwahiliBox continues to exists and change lives; these young, exceptional individuals working relentlessly to actualise their dreams for a better life and society driven by science, technology and innovation and they continue excelling because they continue to live by and uphold strong moral and professional principles. These individuals include: -
1. Dennis Onkangi — Hatua Network scholarship fund benefiary and Alumni, Lead Facilitator, IoT Workshops, Founder & CEO of Nupola Technologies Ltd along with his partners and team members who are also part of the SwahiliBox family.
2. Rahma Halane — Program Assistant Coast at Andela Learning Community (ALC), Team Lead at Rails Girls Mombasa and Technovation Challenge Coach.
3. Mercy Cheruto — Talent Partnerships Associate at Andela Kenya, Cofounder and former co-organiser of Rails Girls Mombasa, and SwahiliBox Alumni and Volunteer Mentor, and Techpreneur of Salonhunt. Check out some of Mercy’s Medium articles here.
4. Muzammil Khan — finalist in the Kenya science and engineering fair, top 11 finalist at the airbus Bizlab Challenge 2017, most innovative student for 2 consecutive years, proactive member of Swahili Box and one of the Lead Faciliatators for our IoT Workshops together with Dennis Onkangi, gold award participant in the Duke of Edinburgh’s award, had the opportunity to present his remote controlled submersible drone and smart detector prototypes to H.E. the Deputy British High Commissioner Susie Kitchens at a Science and Innovation Round Table co-hosted by SwahiliBox in October 2017, has done an internship at iLab in Strathmore University, is the co-founder of Muhammad charitable foundation and lastly but not least, has been a top 20% high achiever fortwo consecutive years.
5. Asha Abdillahi — Co-founder of Rails Girls Mombasa, Lead Trainer for Python and Ruby on Rails Programming for MakersHub’s service subsidisation business model roll out in Likoni and proactive SwahiliBox Volunteer Member.
6. Clemence Zighe — The Communication & Publications Apprentice with SwahiliBox Ladies, MakersHub IoT and ‘Making the Makers’ program Graduate and Alumni, Lead Coordinator for MakersHub’s paid training programs, Women Technovators (WomTech) Ambassador for Likoni, Hatua Network College Scholarship recipient, Coach and Mentor for Technovation Challenge, DOT Youth and Social Innovator Alumni and Founder of TechLens Social Enterprise.
7. Presly Kangu — First Prize Winner of Cellulant-hosted concept hack themed “Innovate For Pwani” during the Pwani Innovation Week 2018, MakersHub IoT and ‘Making the Makers’ program Graduate and Alumni, Technovation Challenge Coach and Mentor.
8. Shee Abdallla — MakersHub IoT and ‘Making the Makers’ program Graduate and Alumni, Technovation Challenge Coach and Mentor, and E-Mobilis Digital Skills Trainer
9. Kipngetich Korir Desmond: Software Developer at Andela| Node js Ambassador | Blockchain Enthusiast, and SwahiliBox Alumni and Volunteer Mentor. Check out Desmond on medium here.
10. Japheth Obala — Software Engineer at Microsoft, former Software Developer and Fellow at Andela, SwahiliBox Alumni and Programs Volunteer Mentor.
11. Felex Kiplimo Kemboi — Student at TUM, Cofounder and co-lead Mombasa python community, Co-founder SwahiliCode(Bootcamp style Training Startup for developers), SwahiliBox Member and Developer mentor.
12. Harrison Gitau — Cofounder and co-lead Mombasa python community, Co-founder SwahiliCode(Bootcamp style Training Startup for developers), SwahiliBox Member and Developer mentor.
13. Rodgers Mzungu — Software Developer Andela kenya, Nodejs/Javascript Developer mentor, Code challenge program alumni, SwahiliBox alumni, volunteer mentor.
14. Daniel Otieno — Software Developer, volunteer trainer and mentor at SwahiliBox, Lead Organiser for Nairuby (Mombasa Division).
15. Oliver Ngoa — SwahiliBox Alumni and Volunteer Mentor , Technical Staff at Nexus Technologies, an ISP provider.
Our Alumni and Community Members’ stories are a constant reminder of the change that is possible when we work together, think of others, never give up and keep pushing.
As I end this, I wish to share a last quote from an article I read recently about one of the most inspirational Kenyan Humanitarians and Community Conservation Strategist, the Founder and Executive Director of Safari Doctors, Umra Omar whom I’ve had the pleasure of sitting adjacent to at a capacity building workshop organised by the French Embassy in Kenya and Somalia. When asked about her advice to purpose seekers her response was, “Consistency, persistence, and dedication are what water this seed of purpose into a tree and before you know it you are part of a forest of change.”
Let us therefore endeavour to effect change step by step and not be discouraged or disappointed by the lack of immediate visible results. Let us take away something from these incredible people who all started from a desire to change their lives and those of others, live a more purposeful life and effect positive change across their communities and wish them the very best as they continue in their journey!
