By Millicent Senava Mannah
The 8th of September, 2022 will continue to be a momentous day as Orange Sierra Leone Foundation celebrated a graduation ceremony for the 1st cohort of 32 students who will be graduating from the Orange Digital Center Coding Schools Web and Mobile App Development Course Programme.
All of the new graduates, 32 of them, are now internationally certified developers, having undergone an intense 6 months full stack course on coding, content management systems, and IT culture.
The ceremony was held at the Orange Sierra Leone Headquarters Terrace, where statements and words of encouragement were delivered by the Orange SL CEO Sekou Amadou Bah, General Secretary-Haffie Haffner, OSL Foundation Director- Jestina Betts, Orange Digital Center Coding School Head- Priscilla Okechukwu, the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank SL -Yetunde Oni, the CEO of SMEDA- Sharka S. Sannoh, the Founder of Insight Consulting SL- Farida Bassa and the MD for UBA Bank SL -Usman Isiaka.
Presentation of projects they have tirelessly worked on was done by the students who also explained how they plan to use them to correct certain social issues in the country.
Special thanks were conveyed to the OSL Directors and Senior Management for their support and participation.
Earlier during the programme, in her welcome address, the Head of the Orange Digital Centre, Priscilla Okechukwu, stated that it is her sincere pleasure to welcome all to the auspicious occasion of the graduation ceremony of the first cohort of 32 students, who have successfully completed their course on Web and Mobile Application Development adding that she is indeed very much elated!
Priscilla said she could remember vividly the first day they set out to start the training at the ODC, a roadmap for the journey was drawn, timetable and course schedules crafted, all waiting for implementation.
She disclosed how precisely on the 15th of January they effectively kicked off with the training underscoring how meeting with those to be graduated for the first time, she saw hope, readiness, willingness, determination, resilience and the tenacity to break barriers to succeed.
The ODC Head stated that they began the journey, not having a glimpse of what the end would turn out to be saying on one hand it was a difficult journey but on the other hand, it was made easy by her ever formidable and committed ODC team, who without, such a major feat achieved, would not have been possible.
Priscilla Okechukwu revealed that the 32, completed a six (6) month course on Web and Mobile application Development with soft skills, developed master piece projects, faced an international defence Jury and were certified successful.
She informed that the Orange Digital Center (ODC) is an innovation hub, with state-of-the-art facilities for young people to gain vital digital and entrepreneurial skills; to enable them gain employment and become thought leaders.
According to her, the ODC brings together several strategic programmes for digital inclusivity offered in Coding schools, Digital manufacturing spaces (FabLabs) and Start-up incubation and acceleration spaces (Orange Fab).
It must be noted that the Orange Digital Center will continue to conduct trainings and capacity-building activities throughout Sierra Leone.
