In this interview with Evelyn Namara, Youthhubafrica’s Rotimi Olawale speaks to one of Africa’s pioneer young women in the Open Source community. Evelyn who recently won the Anita Borg Change Agent Award 2012 in the United States shares her experience and passion.
Q: How did you get into the predominantly male IT field?
From a very early age, I always loved a good challenge. I am an only girl with 3 boys as siblings, I always found myself doing the things they did, if it meant playing football, I did, if I meant climbing trees with the boys, I enjoyed doing it, so with such a background, it made my choice easy. I looked at everything in equals, whatever males can do, I can do! And that followed on even when I was choosing what I wanted to do as a career. IT to me, is something I was always passionate about, and when I finished high school, I just wanted to do it, because it felt right, it felt HOME.
Evelyn Namara
Q: You were once the head of the now defunct Linux Chix Uganda, what did Linux Chix try to achieve on the continent?
Linux Chix Africa was a movement that was born right after a source camp called Africa Source II where leaders in the continent gathered to see how Open Source can help them in different fields of Media, Schools and NGOs – We gathered at a beautiful Island in Kalangala – Uganda and I met a lot of people on the continent who were using Open Source in so many different ways – and at this conference we had 2 founders of Linux Chix Africa, one South African, one Kenyan – both Computer Scientist who introduced us to Linux Chix Africa. It was a great initiative – our main aim was to encourage, and bring more women into computing, and also help them realise that they can use Open Source Software as an alternative that is safer for them and more secure.
We carried out a lot of workshops in our various countries, and we participated in bigger OS (Operating Systems) events like Software Freedom Days, etc – I think why LinuxChix Africa failed, is because, somewhere along the way – there was a gap in the leadership which caused a lot of things to crumble, but it was a very good way of reaching out to young girls and mentoring them into computing and the use of Open Source Software.
Q: Why should more women embrace IT as a career or enhance their career with it? What are the barriers stopping women from accessing/using IT?
IT is a broad industry, and I think it is broad enough to accommodate both genders! I want us to reach a point where gender no longer matters, where everyone has an equal chance to attain a good education and go in for what they want to do in life. I think women need to stop feeling sorry for themselves and embrace the new era. IT or embracing Technology in this new era is the way to go, there are a lot of possibilities that lie ahead. There are many ways of using IT in their different interests in life, be it in running a business, or in a fashion industry, or in agriculture, there are many ways of using simple IT skills for women to really start thinking about and leveraging.
Barriers will always be there, but what do we do? Stop fighting? No. When I was starting out in my career as an IT technical girl, moving around and setting up servers for SMEs here in Uganda, the reality of stereotyping women in IT were real to me. There were scenarios where some IT Managers would not let me in their server rooms because they thought I couldn’t handle the work assigned – but do you know what I did? – I worked harder to prove to them that I was able and worthwhile, they all respected me after that. The main barrier is stereotyping women in IT, thinking that they cannot be as good as the next guy on the job – but we have to stand our ground and move past that, lest we fail in life.
In short, barriers will always be there – it is what you choose to do when you face one that defines you! Do you choose to give up or rise above it? – I say, rise above it and everyone will respect you.
Q: You currently work as program coordinator of Solar Sister? Can you tell us about Solar Sisters and the work you’re doing on the African continent?
Solar Sister empowers African women by providing them with clean energy and economic opportunities. The initiative aims to spread solar power across Africa with the help of a direct sales network. By providing access to electricity in rural areas, especially for women, it helps to close the gender technology gap.
You see, the solar technology is available, but it cannot reach the hands of those who need it the most because of lack of a better distribution channel – on-ground ambassadors; that is where Solar Sister comes in. We train the women on how to use the technology – which is normally simple but they need to learn to use it and then be able to sell it in their communities, then they have to learn how to market their products and how to sale them. We equip these women to be fully tech savvy and also sales and marketing skills to help them reach out in their communities.
The reality is, with 1.6 Billion people without light in the entire world, and 600 million of these living here in the African continent, we have a big problem, but we also have a solution, and Solar Sister is doing it’s part in empowering a women to bring light, hope and opportunity in her community. We are currently working in Uganda, Southern Sudan and Rwanda, and soon we’ll be in Nigeria, Tanzania and Kenya.
Q: You recently won the Anita Borg Change Agent Award 2012. How did you emerge as a winner and how did you feel when the news of your selection was communicated to you?
Evelyn Namara, 2nd from Left with her award
Oh! Anita Borg Change Agent Award – this was a very defining moment for me, I lived looking at some women that I admired and one of them is Dorcas Muthoni, who was one of the founders of LinuxChix Africa, and she inspired me a lot, and about 3 years back she won this award, and I thought to myself, I want to be like her. Winning the Change Agent award was flattering and really it was a testament that when you work hard – someone in the world is watching and recording.
Anita Borg Institute awards women in Computing who have done a tremendous job outside of the US. I was awarded the Change Agent Award for my role in the work I do with Solar Sister, we use simple IT tools to help bring Social change in our communities, things like use of mobile phones for communication, Inventory tracking systems, frontlineSMS for sending bulk messages to women, the list is endless, we leverage the tools we have to bring change in the communities. That is what I was awarded for.
I am totally honored to be the first Ugandan woman to ever be awarded the Change Agent award.
Q: How do you relax?
I love Jazz, I love Soul and Afro -Jazz music, so I love to go out and listen to a band play some cool jazz music. It helps me relax a lot. I also love to watch movies, so the Cinema is another one of my frequent go to place when I need to relax.
Q: What is your biggest dream?
My biggest dream is to be the best that I can be, in so many ways. I want to build businesses that will bring social change in my community and also mentor young women and girls and teach them that you can be the best you want to be! It all begins with believing we are good enough for every situation.
Q: More specifically, can you share one or two examples of gender discrimination you’ve faced and how you dealt with it?
Yes, I have, I shared that briefly earlier, one very vivid example is when I walked into a company and I was supposed to troubleshoot their mail server that was running Red Hat Enterprise server and hadn’t been working for a week and when I showed up, the IT manager, demanded to speak to my boss just to be sure I was the right person for the job! Well, I was young and a girl, so he was suspicious. To cut the long story short, he called my boss who told him, he had 100% full confidence that I would do the job. I went ahead and worked on the server and by the time I left the server was up and running and this IT manager was in so much shame.
I couldn’t have been happier leaving that place with one thing in my mind – Do not under estimate anyone before you give them a chance.
Q: How would you encourage other younger women taking a career in IT?
I would encourage them to do their absolute best, and not take any intimidation – they have earned their place where they are, and they need to now own it and show that they can.
It all begins with self confidence and believing in yourself. It’s not going to be easy sometimes, but the results are rewarding.
Q: If you could bet on the future of IT on the African continent, what would it be?
That we have an era of really talented IT experts in the continent and the sky is not even the limit when it comes to the potential that I have seen. With the current growing trend in mobile phone usage, Africa being ranked way up there, and with so many innovative solutions and apps that I have seen young IT experts coming up with, – we have a bright future. And that is just one of many more examples.
Video of Evelyn Namara given her award acceptance speech at the Grace Hooper Celebration of Women in Computing 2012
