Why Coding Should Be Free & Accessible Young People.
Many young people from low income communities drop out of school — against their own will, because they can’t afford the high fees in secondary schools and colleges.
Their economic income not only denies them their right for education, but opportunities: a fair chance to get a decent job, to escape poverty, to support their families, and to develop their communities…..This is not acceptable.
While coding has the power to put millions of young people on the path to successful careers and empower them to solve problems that they either face or those in their communities.
That’s why we need your help.
We are seeking for support from people of goodwill to help us make coding free and accessible to deserving young people by donating to our campaign here. No donation is too small or too big.
I started training young people on coding from my living room, before I got a space from a friend to continue empowering young people free of charge. Am so lucky that what started so small has expanded to many schools and institutions, including the American Corner — Kisumu, Kenya.
When I started UDEX, a free of charge coding program which has produced some of the most talented software developers, it sounded as a crazy idea, but here is why it should remain free of charge. I grew up in a slum setting, where many families struggle to make ends meet and many young people drop out of school, not out of their own will, but because they can’t afford to pay the high fees in secondary schools and colleges. And empowering them with a real life skill like coding, is giving them a second chance in life to not only create a better future for themselves, but to also contribute to the development of their communities.
For me, it has been a thrilling experience, inspired by my passion for computer science and my strong belief that “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”. That is why everyday since, I have help fund this program from the little that I get as a technology consultant, but right now, the capacity of the program has exceeded the much I get from my consulting services. And thus the future of UDEX, the free coding accelerator is hanging on a balance.
This would mean that so many deserving young people from low income communities will miss the opportunity to master tools and technology that can transform their life and that of their communities. That is why I am asking for your help, with your donations, we will continue to enrolled more young people and empower them free of charge. Every donation counts.
I do love what I do…my experience with the students and the communities has since exceeded my own expectations. The progress we have made in the communities is so much inspiring and I would choose this program over and over again if I had to; I’m not one to give up. I never have been, and I don’t want to start now.
And with your help, we would like to continue to inspire and empower more young people from low income backgrounds through lifelong computer skills and even continue to expand our program to more institutions and schools to reach more young people from low income communities.
Nothing is too little… please help if you can, it will mean a lot. And if you can’t, but you still want to help, then please share this page as widely as you can.
Thank you and thank you so much.
