Afghanistan is a war-torn nation where women often are thought of as second-class citizens and getting an education is a struggle.
But that’s not stopping the women of Dallas-based companies Dialexa and Vinli from sharing their expertise in a program called Girls Can Code, which is helping girls in Afghanistan pursue a career in computer engineering.
The program was begun by the nonprofit Womanity, according to a blog on the Dialexa website. Womanity started the program in two of the largest girls’ public high schools in Kabul, Afghanistan, with the aim of building up the girls’ confidence, improving their problem-solving skills, and exposing them to a world filled with solutions, not just challenges, Dialexa’s blog said.
“We are not only helping to provide these girls with the resources to learn this incredibly valuable skill, but are able to reach them with our personal stories of challenges and encouragement.”
Kia Wright
“When the opportunity to work with Womanity came to Dialexa and Vinli over the summer, I was thrilled,” Dialexa Front-End Developer Kia Wright said in the article. “As a woman who never imagined I’d be a programmer, I’m excited that we are not only helping to provide these girls with the resources to learn this incredibly valuable skill, but are able to reach them with our personal stories of challenges and encouragement. I hope that we can empower them with this knowledge and play a role in changing the attitude towards girls’ education in Afghanistan.”
Team members from Dialexa and Vinli mentored the girls over the summer via a video series intended to help the girls understand the experience, as well as cover such topics as the mentors’ careers have taken, what their typical days are like, and expose them to some of the challenges the women had to overcome.
The organizers are raising $18,700 over the next nine weeks to help fund the program for the next two years.
You can find out more about the Girls Can Code program here.
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