Story by: Elfaki, Abdelhadi
Eman isn’t prepared to wait around for change to happen. Like the British Council, she believes that change has to be led by the community, for the community.
That’s why in 2020 she launched the East Nile Youth Organization (ENYO), which supports economic and social development in her hometown of East Nile, Khartoum.
But Eman didn’t stop there. In 2022 she joined our Coding for Kids programme. It trains recent graduates, mostly women, in coding and entrepreneurship. Through it we aim to break down barriers to technology for women and girls, and create a pool of trainers who can support young learners to build 21st century skills like problem solving and creative and computational thinking.
Eman saw first-hand the difference coding could make to a community, and built skills and connections to take back to ENYO and into local schools.
Eman and her team have since taught 344 children how to code. They hope to reach 500 by the end of March.
It hasn’t always been easy. Eman has had to overcome power cuts, political unrest, and a lack of funding and resources. But the support and enthusiasm of her colleagues has kept her motivated. The British Council has helped too, by providing laptops and guidance.
Inspired by Coding for Kids’ commitment to equality and inclusion, Eman is dedicated to making her lessons accessible to all. Most of her learners are girls, and many have hearing impairments. She aims to open up the sessions to more disabled children and to schools in poorer communities, to ensure everyone who wants to learn is able to.
Eman also plans to pass on her skills to other teachers, so they can reach even more children. Her hope is that the training will have a ripple effect in the community, and inspire far-reaching change long into the future.