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Hakili created the initial version of Yes We Code in partnership with Canada Learning Code. But, once the pandemic hit, Hakili shifted to create its own program, which was offered virtually. The organization partnered with the Electronic Recycling Association to secure used laptops for students to use at home, and it recruited and trained volunteer instructors passionate about STEM and equality. With support from the Calgary Foundation, Yes We Code offered an in-person robotic and coding summer camp for kids in Grade 2 to 12 this past summer. The group returned to virtual for its 24-week program to make things more convenient for kids and their families in the fall.

So far, it’s been a rousing success, with registration starting with just 10 participants in the first year, growing to 20 in the summer 2022 camp and approximately 50 in the fall session. Thieba says, besides keeping kids busy and teaching them new skills, Yes We Code has helped build confidence among kids who may not have thought that computer science was for them.

“It's really fun — it’s not only work,” she says. “It gives them the opportunity to be creative and dream, and have conversations about the future and what's possible in the world.”