Grace Mutanu Mutinda a student at The Technical University of Kenya shares her experience and skills acquired as an intern at Pwani Teknowgalz. Keep reading to have a gist of how the internship assisted her to advance her mobile development skills and gain confidence in her leadership abilities.
What effect did the internship have on your technology and leadership abilities?

During my internship, I was able to gain more practical programming skills as compared to my schoolwork. With the aid of my designated supervisor Ms. Joan Nabusoba, director of professional development at Pwani Teknowgalz, I was able to learn Flutter which is an open source framework by Google which enables creation of multi-platform applications from a single codebase. For a start, I was able to create a courses application using Flutter by the help of my supervisor. I was later able to design a UI for an application for a personal client using Flutter which enabled me to earn some money. I also learnt React Native, which I used to create a personal portfolio. Through the skills I learnt at Pwani Teknowgalz, I’ve been able to successfully coordinate hackathons as a volunteer eg. I coordinated and moderated a Teens in AI hackathon that happened in March for a week. I’ve also been able to coordinate Tech events without supervision eg. I coordinated breakout sessions at IWD Women Techmakers event at Ihub. Through it all I’ve become an enthusiast of Women in Tech

During your internship at Pwani Teknowgalz, what were your key takeaways?

•  Programming takes a lot of patience and positivity with a lot of practice.
• One needs to focus on progress and not perfection.
• Through team work and interaction with peers, learning will always be better and more effective.
•  It is wise to ask for help when stuck.
• Bugs/errors are not my enemies, I only need to pay more attention to details or ask for help.
• It takes passion to be an enthusiast for Women in Tech initiative.
• Always have a learning mindset and be ready to take corrections and suggestions.
• I need to have an innovative mind in everything I create.
• I need to be open to creating solutions in my community.

During your internship, what mobile/web/software solution did you create?

I developed a mobile application by the name Her Haven. Her Haven is a mobile application that aligns with the SDG Gender equality, indicator 5.2. It is a platform of anonymity for women to share their experiences in FGM, rape or domestic violence. It also enables users to report any incident of GBV as mentioned, share a live location and also connect victims to help centers. The app will enable authorities to track hotspot areas and find ways of curbing it. Check below the screenshots of the mobile application I created.

We need to appreciate the small wins and the progress we make rather than perfection.