SFDA to penalize 996 erring establishments    German Chancellor calls Saudi Crown Prince to discuss regional developments    Ministry penalizes Umrah companies over accommodation violations    Alkhorayef Commercial Company partners with XSQUARE Technologies to elevate logistics automation in Saudi Arabia    Hotel occupancy in Saudi Arabia rises to 63% as tourism workforce tops 983,000 in Q1 2025    Saudi e-commerce sales jump to SR69 billion during 1Q 2025    Scores killed in Gaza as Israel intensifies strikes    Trump lands first major legislative win after Congress passes his massive domestic policy bill    At 90, the Dalai Lama braces for final showdown with Beijing Reincarnation    Astronomers spot an interstellar object zipping through our solar system    Portugal and Liverpool FC winger Diogo Jota dies in car accident in Spain    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    Lacazette joins NEOM SC as Saudi Pro League newcomers boost attack with French star    Al Hilal sign Abderrazak Hamdallah on loan for Club World Cup push    Saudi Arabia and Indonesia call for immediate end to Gaza catastrophe Private sector companies sign pacts worth $27 billion during visit of President Prabowo    Elm, One sign MoU to enhance strategic partnership and support local content in communications and marketing sector    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Michelin Guide launches in Saudi Arabia with phased rollout in 2025    Al Hilal stun Manchester City in seven-goal thriller to reach Club World Cup quarterfinals    'How fragile we are': Roskilde Festival tragedy remembered 25 years on    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Girls code in India to tackle challenges of slum living
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 29 - 05 - 2016

MUMBAI — Adolescent girls in the Mumbai slum of Dharavi are battling the daily challenges they face, one mobile app at a time. Tutored on laptops donated by friends of Nawneet Ranjan, a filmmaker who set up a charity in Dharavi, the girls are embracing technology to confront issues ranging from their safety to garbage in the sprawling slum in India's biggest city.
"Girls and women suffer the most in a slum, as they often have no resources and are not aware of their rights," said Ranjan, who studied filmmaking in the United States before returning to Mumbai. "I wanted to teach the girls how to use technology to get ahead," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a bare room that serves as the classroom. About two dozen girls were seated on the floor, tapping at laptops or reading.
The girls are building apps they hope will be used by slum dwellers to make their lives easier — by allowing them to send a distress call if a woman is being harassed, a message to civic authorities when garbage needs clearing, or to receive an alert when it's their turn at the communal water tap.
India is one of the world's largest software services exporters. Global and local technology companies hire tens of thousands of English-speaking college graduates every year at modern campuses in cities such as Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
The spare room in Dharavi where Roshani, Ansuja, Sapna and Nahek learned to code is a far cry from those glass-and-chrome offices and from global movements such as Girls Who Code and Girls in Tech, aimed at getting more women into technology.
Ranjan's Dharavi Diary project began with 15 girls. It has grown to more than 200 now, and includes boys and mothers of the children, as well.
"I like building apps. Knowing how to use a computer, to write code is important for getting a good job," said Ansuja, a slight and articulate 15-year-old.
"I want to build an app that can help fight child labor, because these are children younger than us and instead of studying, they have to work," she said.
After school every day, there are lessons in math, science and arts besides computers, and a game of football most evenings in the playground across the street. During the summer holidays, children stream in and out of the brightly-painted room all day.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made girls' education one of his priorities, with a nationwide campaign.
A long-delayed plan to redevelop Dharavi envisages tearing down the shacks and building apartments for the residents, who live beside open drains and with no running water.
"They see so much every day — domestic violence, drug abuse, child abuse, poverty. Their parents are taxi drivers and domestic workers, and these kids are usually the first in the family to go to school," said Ranjan.
"But every family has at least one smartphone, and that's why I thought of using technology. Technology is such a leveler, and it gives them such confidence," he said. The girls picked the issues they wanted to address and built the apps in groups of four each, using open-source software.
Their apps include one for women's safety, one for water conservation and one on education.
For Ranjan, watching the girls interact with visitors and showing off their apps on a tablet or mobile, is evidence that even limited resources can be put to use. "It's frugal innovation at its best," he said. "With the right resources and mentoring, they can do so much more. And these can be applied in slums, in cities everywhere."


Clic here to read the story from its source.