My name is Latifa Noor,I am 20 Years old I live in Mombasa Kisauni subcounty .I finished my high school education in the year 2016 at Hassan Joho Girls secondary school and currently I am a student at Pwaniteknowgalz I always wanted to learn more about technology and what happens at the background of it all like the code they have to put in place so that things can work.

The software and the hardware of it all.I had a dream of becoming a developer and digging deep in to technology field.I always was curious to know how the programs in our computers in our school lab worked . I came to learn about Pwaniteknowgalz ,when I was in high school during in the year 2016 a program called Mombasa Girls in STEM ,They came to train us on the importantes of technology and how to solve problems using (science,Technology,Engineering and Mathematics).I was a participant of Mombasa girls in stem and since i was fascinated about technology my team and I did a project on the technology section where I and my team members created a mobile application called Usalama Plus Plus that connects garbage collectors with the residents .We were able to present our project to a panel of judges during the Final Stem fair.Mombasa Girls in STEM project ignited my passion in the Technology industry as well as being keen to observe the problems our community faces and to come up with sustainable solutions that can tackle these problems

After Mombasa Girls in STEM I approached my mentors from Pwaniteknowgalz who after telling them my passion guided me in my career path gave me the platform to nurture my skills in Technology field.I joined Pwaniteknowgalz computer classes where i learnt computer essentials and then proceeded to web development .Currently I am a student at Pwaniteknowgalz learning python programming language .I am also a volunteer in Mombasa girls in STEM Phase 2 program because I felt the need to share my experience with fellow students who are participating in this years project In the future I want to become a web developer and a mentor to inspire more girls to technology like Pwaniteknowgalz mentors.

There are a lot of misconception in the field of technology and the entire STEM industry when it comes to women as there is a big gender gap of women in this sectors.In Mombasa where I was born in ,there are less female mentors in this fields be I believe we have the passion but lack the platform to transform our ideas into opportunities.I trust there are lots of girls like me who have the passion to venture into Technology but don’t have enough exposure to enable them utilize technology to create sustainable solutions in the community.Furthermore limited resources in some areas has made it difficult to reach out to women who are interested in the STEM field.

My advice to fellow girls is that believe in yourselves,It all starts from somewhere don’t give up and most importantly inspire fellow girls.There is so much to technology other than posting photos on instagram and facebook.lets be part of the people who create such products not just consume them.I always imagined a coder to be someone serious who is in front of a black screen and has no time to socialize but what I came to know is that coding is fun! Its makes you think and use your creativity to come up with awesome products.