Zawadi Education Fund creates opportunities for Stephanie Nyarko
Zawadi is the Swahili word for gift and for 23-year-old Stephanie Nyarko, the Zawadi Africa Education Fund’s gift of education could not have come at a better time.
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It was by sheer chance and the beginning of a life-changing experience when in 2009, as a fresher at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Stephanie Nyarko, and four other girls, all studying computer engineering, received text messages to apply for and attend an interview for Google-Zawadi Africa Education Fund scholarships specifically tailored for girls studying computer science.
While some of her colleagues dismissed the invitation, she took it seriously and consequently prepared for the interview. She and one other girl, who also welcomed the invitation, were selected to receive the Zawadi-Google full scholarships that covered their entire undergraduate education.That was the beginning of a transformational life for her. For as it turned out, being a Zawadi scholar opened many doors subsequently.
Zawadi Africa Education Fund is a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to actively shape the future of Africa through the gift of education and empowerment of African women to become global leaders and role models. The fund provides university scholarships and leadership development for academically gifted and financially-challenged girls on the continent, Ghana not excepted.
Indeed, the Zawadi Ghana Education Fund, overseen by a Ghanaian board, seeks to award scholarships to brilliant, needy girls from all over Ghana. The objective is to create a pipeline of young African women leaders for the future of Africa.
Throughout her undergraduate studies at KNUST as a Computer Science Engineer, the Zawadi Africa Education Fund afforded Stephanie the chance each year to attend a Zawadi leadership conference in Nairobi, Kenya, the headquarters of the fund. Zawadi scholars from across Africa attend the conference each year.
As a Zawadi-Google scholar in her third year at KNUST, Stephanie had the opportunity to travel to Switzerland for a Google scholar’s retreat, where she met over 100 other Google scholars from Europe, Middle-East and Africa. At the retreat, she presented a project on the detection of breast cancer using machine, learning techniques.
The opportunities have not ceased for Stephanie. In her final year, she was offered a three month internship in Germany, where she worked on a research in the field of machine learning. Before then, she had had the opportunity to do previous internships with Vodafone Ghana Data Centre, Ostee IT and Huawei.
Stephanie has successfully completed her first degree at KNUST as a Computer Engineer. While waiting to serve her one-year compulsory national service, another opportunity has landed at her doorstep – to do a 10-week all expenses paid internship with Merrill Lynch, London.
In an interview with her before her departure to London, UK, Stephanie admitted that Zawadi Africa Education Fund had done a lot for her throughout her undergraduate studies. Apart from giving her a gift of quality education, by courtesy of the annual forum she attends in Kenya for Zawadi scholars, she has acquired self-confidence, believing in herself and has been empowered with a “can-do” spirit wherever she has found herself.
Before then, she was shy to do anything in public and felt intimidated as a woman to venture into anything boys would attempt. She has had the added opportunity of meeting girls of her age from all over Africa, thus building a wide network of friends. She has learnt different African cultures along the line.
So, having been exposed to the opportunities of a Zawadi scholarship, Stephanie Nyarko, the last of three siblings, all having studied engineering, believes that Zawadi has made it possible for her and she sees a promising future ahead of her.
Upon completion of her national service, Stephanie wants to gain some practical experience, combining business with Information Technology (IT). She is harbouring a desire to pursue a Master’s Degree in future. Her aim is to become the most sought-after Computer Science Engineer in Ghana.
Stephanie shining story is a clear case of the opportunities that our young ones, especially girls, have in their world but close their eyes to on a daily basis. It is time for our young women to seize opportunities that knock at their doors for nothing ventured, they say, is nothing gained.
We have often lamented the stunted opportunities for women in our society. While this may hold some water, it is also true that opportunities are never gender-prescribed. They are open to those who are ready and willing.
If only Stephanie would continue to avail herself of the manifold opportunities the world of Computer Science has for her, irrespective of her gender, she could aptly be described at this stage as a budding female Computer Science Engineer.
On Zawadi, she said she would recommend it any day to her friends. And as she put it, “life could indeed be changed for the better with a solid gift of education, the mustard seed in every successful life”.
Writer's email: [email protected]