Girls in ICT: No. Student from Adaklu Goefe DA JHS to participate in Girls Who Code Programme

Christabel Gegefe, a student at Adaklu Goefe DA Junior High School, has been selected to participate in the globally acclaimed Girls Who Code Summer Programme, joining five other girls from Adaklu.

Her selection comes on the back of her outstanding performance in the recent Girls in ICT initiative organised by the Ministry of Communications, Digitalisation and Innovation in the Volta Region.

The Girls Who Code Summer Programme is an international online coding and computer science training programme for girls aged 15 to 18.

This year’s session runs from June 30 to August 8 and features participants from around the globe. Christabel’s participation was made possible through the support of Friends of Adaklu (FOA), a non-profit organisation committed to promoting digital empowerment in the Adaklu District. She is among seven students sponsored by FOA this year.

Christabel stood out during the Girls in ICT initiative, emerging first at her centre in Adaklu. Reflecting on her experience, she shared:

“I felt good when I was selected. I was hoping to win, but I couldn’t make it. Next year, I hope I will win when l am selected again.”

She added that watching other winners receive laptops inspired her to work harder, and she now aspires to become a website designer.

Christabel’s digital journey began through the Friends of Adaklu Digital Learning Programme, where she was introduced to Scratch, HTML/CSS, and Python. Her passion for coding earned her a spot in the girls’ coding club and ultimately prepared her for selection into the Girls in ICT programme. Through her participation in the Girls Who Code Summer Programme, she is expected to sharpen her skills in web development, computer game creation, and other emerging digital fields. Participants will also receive certificates and complete the course with functional websites of their own.

Kingsley Elorm Kwaku Leh, a volunteer ICT tutor at the FOA Good Life Center, praised her dedication and abilities:

“She is brilliant and smart. She picks up concepts quickly and executes tasks perfectly. She is the quiet type but very effective in class,” he said.

FOA Country Director Madam Stella Kudah commended Christabel’s consistent commitment to learning.

“She has been with FOA from the beginning. When her peers come to class, they say she teaches them. In fact, I don’t type anymore at my school. Christabel types all my documents and also helps her teachers. Her classmates even nominated her to represent them at the Girls in ICT programme,” she added.

Madam Kudah also acknowledged Christina Randazzo, FOA’s U.S.-based liaison, for her unwavering support of the organisation’s digital learning initiatives.

“She has been instrumental in initiating and funding numerous programmes. She connected us to the Academy in California, helped us secure computers, build capacity for our volunteer teacher and introduced us to organisations like Waloyo who provided desktop computers,” she said.

Past participants in the Girls Who Code programme, including Isabella and Enyonam, have already begun putting their skills to practical use, with some creating websites for their family businesses.

“Enyonam is so good with Canva. I had to wait for her to show me how to fix something on it. These are the kind of results we want for all our students,” Madam Kudah said.

The programme operates via live online classes, with tutors from around the world guiding students through coding and digital skills in small Zoom groups. FOA also provides on-site support to ensure learners stay on track.

“Teachers are patient, and students are placed in small Zoom groups for focused learning. We also provide extra support on-site, with a local teacher available to help students outside scheduled online sessions,” Madam Kudah explained.

For Christabel, this opportunity is just the beginning. Though she didn’t take the top prize in the Girls in ICT competition, she remains determined.

“I just have to keep learning and working hard,” she affirmed.

From her small hometown in Adaklu to a global digital platform, Christabel is charting a new path in technology. FOA plans to expand its digital learning efforts beyond Adaklu, and Madam Kudah noted that any student who just completed the BECE can join the digital learning programme for free at the Good Life Centre in Adaklu Tsrefe.