• NGO GirlCode has teamed up with fibre operator Vuma to teach students in underserved communities how to code.
• Vuma will provide infrastructure and GirlCode will provide education for three schools in Soweto and Eldorado Park, Gauteng.
• Over 300 young people will be involved in the tour, which hopes to provide young girls with essential digital skills.

One of South Africa’s largest fibre internet operators, Vuma, has partnered with GirlCode, an NGO that seeks to uplift girls and young women with coding skills. Together, the two organisations are embarking on a tour to upskill school children in Gauteng.

According to a press release sent to Hypertext, the project will see Vuma provide fibre infrastructure and funding to help introduce three hundred learners from three schools in Soweto and in Eldorado Park to the world of coding, including the Diepdale Secondary School and Milnerton Primary School.

The goal of the collaboration is to further gender equality in the tech industry and provide young girls with essential digital skills. 

“South Africa, like many other countries, faces a shortage of coding skills, especially among women,” explains Tapiwa Muza, Project Manager at GirlCode.

“To help address that, we created a programme that addresses that gender gap and encourages both girls and boys to explore coding and technology. Our goal is to create a supportive and inclusive environment that empowers individuals from all backgrounds to enter and excel in traditionally underrepresented fields.”

GirlCode says that all three hundred students at the schools will receive comprehensive instruction in fundamental coding skills. As they acquire this knowledge during the coding tour, Muza and her team hope they will be proficient enough to share it with their peers and create a ripple effect of learning and inspiration in their communities.

With GirlCode providing on the ground education, Vuma will be providing support infrastructure to aid courses during the tour.

“As schools that serve under-resourced communities, we know the transformative value and potential for change that teaching coding can bring. Unfortunately, accessing the necessary support to provide this type of education has always been challenging, resulting in the disparity between us and schools with more resources. This programme will go a long way toward closing that gap,” beams “Ms Ryan”, the Natural Sciences and Mathematics teacher at Milnerton Primary School in Eldorado Park.

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