Five talented young women from Swaha Hindu College (SHC) earned third place at Caribbean Girls Hack 2019 Hackathon. Alexis Ali, Asia Baksh, Lakshmi Sookram, Varuna Kistow and Jade Paul, assisted by two honorary members, Aruna and Renuka Toolsie, participated and excelled in this event, designed to give secondary school and university-level female students an immersive and interactive experience in the use of technology to address issues affecting them.
Caribbean Girls Hack 2019 Hackathon is an initiative introduced by co-founders Bridget Lewis and Nicole Pitter Patterson of SheLeadsIt and Girls in ICT Day. This event was hosted in collaboration with RSC Tech Clubs. The SHC team chose Climate Change and designed a technology-based solution. The team members were required to participate in web-based training programmes designed to increase their awareness of the topics, develop problem-solving skills, build leadership capabilities and increase tech skills using cutting-edge IBM technology training.
The students decided on the concept of a game “Go Green or Goodbye” to help sensitize the public about climate change and also encourage replanting of trees in deforested areas. On May 24th, they presented their solutions to a panel of judges in a style very similar to the local TV show “Planting Seeds”. Placing third among 18 secondary schools from across Trinidad and Tobago, they were awarded a trophy, medals and FitBit smart watches.
The winning teams were invited to meet with the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Her Excellency Paula Mae-Weekes. This afforded the young women the opportunity to present their project to the President and also engage with her in an informal manner. They, along with the other two teams, were invited to work with the Office of the President on tech-based solutions to bridge the information gap between the public and the Office.
SWAHA congratulates these students on their exceptional performance!
