To celebrate this year’s International Girls in ICT Day, Oracle Academy partnered with SHOFCO Girls Leadership Academies to host an inspiring and hands-on session at Kibera School for Girls on 7th April 2025. Themed ‘girls in ICT for inclusive digital transformation’, the event brought together 41 girls, aged 13 to 14 years, from SHOFCO’s Kibera and Mathare schools’ for girls for an event that blended hands-on coding projects, financial awareness, and leadership development.
The session focused on coding and robotics powered by Java and SQL, offering the girls a practical introduction to how technology powers the world around them. Through interactive lessons and team-based activities, the students learned to write simple programs using Java, explored how SQL can be used to create and query databases, and even controlled simple robots using code.
In addition to the technical training, the girls engaged with Oracle’s Director of Finance for Africa & Oracle Women Leadership (Kenya) Co-lead, Dorothy Sagwe-Onyoni, who led the session focused on leadership and financial empowerment, introducing them to the concept of “Spend, Save, and Share”. This model helped the students begin thinking about how to manage resources responsibly, even at a young age. The message was clear: understanding how to use and manage money is just as important as knowing how to code. The girls were also encouraged to embrace self-discipline, goal setting, and responsible decision-making – foundations of leadership that prepare them not only for future careers in tech but also for leadership roles in their communities.
“The collaboration between Oracle Academy and SHOFCO exemplifies what’s possible when global expertise meets grassroots passion for education. At SHOFCO Girls Leadership Academies, we’re proud to stand at the frontlines of inclusive tech education, and we celebrate this meaningful partnership with Oracle Academy that brought Java and SQL programming to our classrooms and new opportunity for our girls to embrace technology,” stated Daniel Njue, STEM Teacher, SHOFCO Girls Leadership Academies.
“It was an absolute pleasure to host the Oracle team as we marked this year’s Girls in ICT Day celebration. The sessions, anchored on the theme of inclusive digital transformation, were truly inspiring. From hands-on coding session to lessons in financial literacy, and reflections from the Guest Speaker, reminding us that a leader’s greatest responsibility is to raise other leaders. We couldn’t have asked for a more impactful and empowering guest experience. Our collaboration with Oracle Academy has been instrumental in bringing this vision to life, and we believe this was an incredible opportunity for our girls to see themselves reflected in future tech spaces and that they too can rise, lead and innovate in technology,” said Madam Redempta Kinyaka, Head Teacher, SHOFCO Kibera School for Girls, “At SHOFCO schools, we believe that access, exposure and mentorship are key to unlocking the innovative potential of every girl and we remain deeply grateful to Oracle for the continued collaboration to equip our girls with the curriculum, tools, skills and confidence to pursue careers in technology.”