Summary

Learning to code is one of the most effective ways to be successful in the modern economy. To that end, Marlene Mhangami and Ronald Maravanyika created the ZimboPy organization to teach women and girls in Zimbabwe how to program in Python. In this episode they are joined by Mike Place to discuss how ZimboPy got started, the projects that their students have worked on, and how the community can get involved.

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Preface

mu- Hello and welcome to Podcast.__init__, the podcast about Python and the people who make it great.

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– Your host as usual is Tobias Macey and today I’m interviewing Marlene Mhangami, Mike Place, and Ronald Maravanyika about ZimboPy, an organization that teaches women and girls in Zimbabwe how to program using Python

Interview

Introductions

How did you get introduced to Python?

Can you start by explaining what the mission of ZimboPy is and how it got started?

Which languages did you consider using for your lessons and what was your reason for choosing Python?

What subject matter do you cover in addition to pure programming concepts?

What are some of the types of projects that the students have completed as part of their work with ZimboPy?

What have been the most challenging aspects of running ZimboPy?

How is ZimboPy supported and what are your plans to ensure future sustainability?

Can you share some success stories for the women and girls that you have worked with?

For anyone who is interested in replicating your work for other communities what advice do you have?

Keep In Touch

Mike cachedout on GitHub @cachedout on Twitter cachedout on Keybase

Ronald Rmaravanyika on GitHub @Rmaravanyika on Twitter

Marlene @marlene_zw on Twitter LinkedIn



Picks

Tobias Click

Ronald Odoo formerly OpenERP



Links

The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA