Three Rwandan students were last week selected to take part in the next round of the African Code Challenge. African Code Challenge is an initiative of Germany system Analysis and Software Development (SAP) and it’s organised in partnership with The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The annual competition saw over 30 students from Rwanda take part in the challenge on the national level. Among these, 20 managed go through with their submissions and these had their projects in computer programming, scratching and coding. The three winners who were selected were given awards following their outstanding performance. Their projects demonstrated how technology can improve the future of education. Ildephonse Mungwarakarama, the students’ mentor says the participants were offered enough training for they did not want them to miss an opportunity in this year’s challenge. “Every child was allowed to apply and work on the project with a team and demonstrate how their technology can improve the future of education.” The first winner, Xavier Maurice Cooper Gonda, a primary three student bagged a brand new HP laptop, modem and one-month internet. He says that though winning the competition didn’t come easy, he is grateful for the milestone. “I feel great and so surprised; it took me a long time to accept it. It was a very hard decision to choose the components for my project. I am going to improve and get ready for the next phase of the competition,” he says. Gonda encourages other children to get coding skills. Yedidia Gatarayiha Teta a form three student at G.S. Notre Dame de Lourdes in Byimana, Muhanga District and her brother Junior Norce Gatarayiha, a form one student at Lycée de Kigali took second position. They got a tablet, smart phone and one-month internet package. “Our project was about coding and scratching in making a game. I appreciate this award; I believe my brother and I did our best in order to get this prize,” Teta says. She calls on to fellow students to improve their learning skills and put efforts in science and technology. Gatarayiha also says he is proud of having won this award, “This makes me happy and gives me confidence that I will win the competition.” The third prize went to Bezalel Magede Tatenda, a Grade 4 student at Discovery International School in Kigali-who secured a smart phone with a-one month internet. “I am happy because I have got my own phone, it will help me work on online projects. The competition was not really difficult, but I did not have enough time to work on it,” he says. Parents’ reactions Chara Itoka, Xavier Cooper’s mother says she is so proud of her son’s achievement. “Xavier has always studied STEM, especially robotics and coding. So, I expected him to do well in the competition. I advise parents to support their children’s education, creating for them opportunities to learn beyond what schools offer,” she says. Aline Nagazura, Teta and Junior Norce Gatarayiha’s mother says she supported her children a lot in the competition by for example availing internet for them. The winners are expected to attend the next phase to contend for the next phase of the continental awards that is set to take place in December this year.
