News & Events
News & Events
supportive and accepted her
decision. Rasheeda believes
that it is very important for
girls to not let fear stop them
from choosing their own path.
She chose hers
and her parents
support her none
the less. The key
she says is to speak
up. Still very much
a gamer, Rasheeda
has made her own;
a very intricate Spa
game.
this was to study Computers.
At Ashesi University she
graduated at the top of her
class and was hired at a
software firm and soon after
excitement on the children’s
faces that let her know that
she had found her calling.
Though there is hardly ever
enough computers to go
around, or an updated
system to use Regina
is not deterred. She
keeps finding ways
to give back to the
community.
When
asked what success
means to her, she
replies; “Success is
watching the seed you’ve
planted grow and bear fruit.
You have to remember to give
back to help others.”
Success is watching
the seed you’ve planted
grow and bear fruit.
Many undergo a lot of
pressure from their parents
to become doctors or lawyers
and dread standing up to
them.
every
feature,
expla ining
how each part
functioned. The
apps ranged from
games,
voting,
job
search,
education,
and
more.
The
attention
to
detail was very impressive.
It was hard to believe
something so complex was
actually not that difficult to
design. The students were
asked how long they thought
it would take to create an app
using javascript. Javascript is
the computer programming
language used to create
quizzes or polls to make
websites more interactive.
Regina demonstrated that
an app could be built in just
minutes, 4 to be exact. Though
she argues that it can even be
down in 1 minute. There were
girls from Kumasi Anglican
Secondary
School,
Elite
College, Youth Institute for
Science and Technology and
one student who traveled all
18 GOWOMAN SEPTEMBER|2013
the way from Accra with her
mother from Faith Montessori
to Tech Needs Girls
With a bigger than expected
turn out Tech Needs Girls is
the beginning of something
great. On speaking to some
of the students, they pointed
out how grateful they were to
have attended the workshops.
For some it was a boost in
the right direction and for
others clarity in knowing it
is okay to pick a subject they
enjoy. It helped them gain
more insight to a subject
with exciting potential job
prospects. Some also found
the course a little intimidating
at first but towards the end of
the workshops realized that
you don’t have
to be Einstein to
study IT, you just
need discipline
and drive. And
in some cases,
you also have
to find a way to
convince
your
parents
While Rasheeda’s passion
came from a computer game,
Regina’s
eureka
moment
came from a movie. She
remembers seeing a rocket
launch on TV and knowing
that she too would one day
build her own rocket. The
first step in her journey to
a bank. But an office desk is
no place for a GoWoman on a
rocket mission so she quit and
started Soronko Solutons. As
SHE-EO Regina is committed
to bringing technology to the
underserved. One particular
project she holds close to her
heart is The Deaf School.
She created an app for deaf
children, to use. It was the
23-year-old Tech Needs Girls
co-founder Rasheeda Yehuza
gave up a career in medicine
initially against the wishes
of her parents. Like many
African parents hers wanted
her to be a doctor. At a young
age she was told that it is what
she would become and she
believed it until her encounter
with a computer game called
Solitaire. She was fascinated
by how it functioned and
operated; this triggered her
passion for gaming. While at
the university she changed
her major to Computer Science
and she has no regrets. When
she broke the news to her
parents, although initially
surprised,
they were very
GOWOMAN SEPTEMBER|2013
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