11 minute read
WITCHERY STYLE COLLECTIVE : THEMBISO MAGAJANA
THE THRONE MAG
Words by Sizwe Shabalala
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Thembiso Magajana, Founder of Social Coding, is a young and exciting voice in the Tech industry. For the last 5 years or so, Thembiso has been relentless when it comes to using her platform to empower the Youth of South Africa through the use of technology. In 2020, she was recognised as one of South Africa's most influential youth. Coming from an investment banking background, working in tech was not always the plan for Thembiso. In fact, according to her, it was her niece that sparked the desire to journey into tech when her niece, who was just 7 years old at the time, revealed that she wanted to be a creator and innovator like Steve Jobs.
“Just to see that passion at such a young age, my thought was: how do I help you do that? How do I help you achieve that? By learning how to code. I started the deep dive trying to find out what tech and coding was about. It was very disheartening to see that there weren’t many women, black women in particular, in that space. I didn’t want my niece to go into a space that didn’t have representation. So, Social Coding actually started with the idea of creating a safe space for young girls to see themselves in this industry.” Like any other new journey in life, Thembiso’s transition from Finance to Tech was not without its challenges. People seem to have this preconceived idea of what people in Tech look like and for Thembiso, she wanted to challenge those stereotypes headon. She likes the idea of being a representation for women in Tech who can have their hair done, nails done and just feel beautiful in whatever they are wearing.
Clothes are the first thing people notice about you when they meet you in person, before you even get to speak to them. “What I love about this particular collection from Witchery is the flow. There’s nothing restrictive of it. I feel powerful but at the same time, because of the amazing colours, I feel playful. It’s strong but it’s not restrictive. I like the fact that when I am wearing these clothes, I feel confident, in control and playful all at once — I feel like myself.” Beyond just the physical appearance stereotypes of people in Tech, Thembiso is aware that this industry is still a male-dominated industry and she says, it was a challenge to find likeminded women that would champion the cause when she first started this journey.
Like most startups, money is an essential part of the business and for Thembiso, when she started Social Coding, one of the most noticeable challenges for her was that of funding. “It was a great challenge securing funding. You have to do this sing-and-dance from a poverty perspective and I wanted to change the narrative. Instead of looking at it as a donation, look at it as enabling.” When speaking about what Social Coding actually is, Thembiso speaks of it with the same excitement and spark one would if they were speaking about their own baby, their pride and joy.
“Social Coding is non-profit digital skills company that focuses on empowering rural communities through digital skills training. Our training incorporates things such as coding and robotics, with the intention of figuring out how to elevate people using technology in education and employment. Social Coding is about providing opportunity and equity but most importantly, Social Coding is about digital parity in rural communities.” Social Coding has three flagship programs that are focused on rural community empowerment. The first one is the Junior Pioneers Program and it is made specifically for learners between Grade 8 and 9. “Statics have shown that twelve out of every twenty learners don’t choose pure Maths in Grade 10. So, intervention at Matric level is too late. We need to get them excited about Maths in Grade 8 and Grade 9. So, the Junior Pioneers program is about making Maths fun and exciting and actually influencing young learners to choose pure Maths in Grade Ten.”
The second program in the organisation is called the Next Generation Program, which focuses on getting students between Grade 10 and 12 from rural communities into university. “When you look at rural communities in general, there are so many barriers to access education. These kids have to travel long distances to the nearest Internet cafe and even there, they don’t know how to use a computer. So, how do we expect them to get into university when they can’t even apply in the first place?” Beyond just empowering students with computer literacy, they introduce them to Coding, System Information, as well as Artificial Intelligence. Most importantly, the program tries to put the students in the best positions to get bursaries and scholarships from the Partners and even possible employment.
The third program in this empowerment chain is the Untapped Program, which Thembiso describes as a program aimed at addressing the issue of unemployment for rural community members between the ages of 18 and 34.
“I believe that Social Coding is meant to be by the people for the people so, when we go into rural communities, we actually train unemployed youth to become the facilitators of our Junior Pioneers Program and Next
THEMBISO MAGAJANA Styled by WITCHERY
"CLOTHES ARE SUPPOSED TO ENHANCE YOUR CHARACTER AND WITH THIS COLLECTION, I FEEL COMFORTABLE AND CONFIDENT.”
Generation Program. We don’t come with our own trainers. We go into the communities, we build infrastructures, we train and equip the people because it’s for the community, by the community.” As a self-described Inclusion Activist and Social Entrepreneur, for Thembiso, it means no child gets left behind. Inclusion is at the heart of Social Coding and they make it their priority to create a safe space for kids to thrive in.
“What do the people need? How are they feeling? In my rural communities, no one is trying to be the next Facebook or Google, they just want to learn how to switch on a computer or learn how to do basic searches on Google. They want to learn how to use this technology in order to leverage it to find jobs. So, I had to learn early on to just shut up and listen.” Since its inception just over five years ago, Thembiso and her team at Social Coding have had more than six-thousand beneficiaries. This is a huge milestone because the communities in which Social Coding has been working are historically marginalized communities. Another noticeable achievement, she says, has been seeing 455 of their students matriculate with 7 Distinctions and above.
When the pandemic brought the world to a halt in 2019, the inequalities of the country and the world at large, were put under a magnifying glass. When lockdown happened, some schools were able to pivot to online learning but for schools in rural communities, they did not have the means to do the same. Social Coding had 47 matric students fail last year and have had to repeat this year.
“We always thought we could be casual in our approach and rollout our programs gradually but COVID taught me that there is no time. We have to prioritise digital inclusion right now because there are people’s lives on the brink of change and it’s not about you right now but those that come after you.” “What do the people need? How are they feeling? In my rural communities, no one is trying to be the next Facebook or Google, they just want to learn how to switch on a computer or learn how to do basic searches on Google. They want to learn how to use this technology in order to leverage it to find jobs. So, I had to learn early on to just shut up and listen.” Since its inception just over five years ago, Thembiso and her team at Social Coding have had more than six-thousand beneficiaries. This is a huge milestone because the communities in which Social Coding has been working are historically marginalized communities. Another noticeable achievement, she says, has been seeing 455 of their students matriculate with 7 Distinctions and above.
When the pandemic brought the world to a halt in 2019, the inequalities of the country and the world at large, were put under a magnifying glass. When lockdown happened, some schools were able to pivot to online learning but for schools in rural communities, they did not have the means to do the same. Social Coding had 47 matric students fail last year and have had to repeat this year.
“We always thought we could be casual in our approach and rollout our programs gradually but COVID taught me that there is no time. We have to prioritise digital inclusion right now because there are people’s lives on the brink of change and it’s not about you right now but those that come after you.” All of this has not been without great sacrifice for Thembiso but she finds fulfillment when she sees tangible results from the learners.
“These are kids who come from backgrounds where, if you can’t speak English fluently, it is seen as a lack of intelligence. Coding is not language except for computer language. One of the first things
THE THRONE MAG THEMBISO MAGAJANA
Witchery X The Throne
they teach you is how to make your computer say, ‘Hello World.’ There is no pressure for them to be fluent in the English language per se. Seeing their faces light up when they successfully code their first HTML is one of the most fulfilling things about this job.” Being recognised as a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, A TEDx Speaker and as well as being the recipient of the Margaret Hirsch Heroine Award 2017, Thembiso is determined to continue inspiring young women across the country and beyond. Not only is she empowering young women to take up space, she is also teaching them how to make space for the next young girl because, for her, no child is left behind.
“I have always been passionate about community. I want the people that I serve to feel seen, I want them to feel like they belong. I want these kids to feel valued and be unapologetic about taking up space. When they find an opportunity to be heard, I make sure their voices are amplified.” Even within her own personal capacity, she has become a lot more aggressive when it comes to pursuing funds and creating multiple revenue streams for the organisation. She understands that she cannot rely on donor funding alone because if donor funding were to dry out, the beneficiaries would be affected. “I treat Social Coding like a trust fund baby. I open up accounts for it, I want my business to go to private school and this kind of thinking is part of what ensures that I am savvy with the money we have at our disposal to change lives.” There is an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Thembiso has submitted to this idea and recognizes it as one of the
noticeable factors she can pinpoint as the main reason for her success on this journey so far.
“If you go to rural communities, you find that there is a network of women that, even though they’re not the wealthiest or most educated, they are always ready to teach the next generation and impart wisdom. Mothers know the importance of education and this is why when we first come into communities, we approach the mothers first so we can get their support in order for us to run successful programs in these communities. Our success has been at the hands of black women who want more for their children.”
Even though she was able to use her finance background as a springboard to start this journey, Thembiso is fully aware that not everyone has been as fortunate as her.
“We tend to tokenize women in this space. We give them magazine covers, speakers’ events but we don’t put them in decisionmaking positions where they can effectively create change.” She believes that with better pay and more men in positions of power advocating for women in the industry, the better the chances of seeing these changes. She says she will continue the fight and continue empowering young women because this dream goes beyond her.
“It is important to understand that the purpose is bigger than me. I remind myself every day to remain obedient to the vision and be obedient to the purpose because on the other side of that obedience is someone else’s blessing.”
