My experience with WOPA
When I signed up for the Women Passion Program, I expected to go through the drills just like any other program, and slightly improve my programming skills at the end of it all. Seven weeks down the road, I can confidently say I was wrong. Unlike other training programs, I have experienced an amazing way of learning concepts in the shortest time possible. I always long for the next “episode” of Wopa sessions.
I encountered, something I call an eye-opener, during the first two weeks. It was nothing I came expecting, but it turned out to be my most treasured part of this whole program. These sessions were inspirational, motivational, enlightening and at the same time challenging. As a result I embarked on a journey of self-discovery. The introductory session involved describing the meaning of your name, I hate to say this but for the many years I had lived, I did not know what my first name meant and didn’t care anyway. It’s astonishing how I went through school and sought to know more about things that would be examined, some of which were irrelevant, but cared less about understanding who I am. WOPA has enabled me to start a journey of discovering my mission, vision, purpose and set some long term goals in life. I can’t say I have completely discovered myself, but at least I know what I want to achieve in life and every time I read through it, I am motivated to go an extra mile such that I see it come to pass. As different ladies shared their life stories, I was inspired to work harder; I got to understand that it is possible to do anything as long as you put your heart to it.
The technical sessions in python programming have stirred up my passion for software development. I love the task oriented method that the facilitators have used to see us learn in the shortest time possible. It has been quite challenging but every time I’ve attempted a task I have learnt very many concepts and it has been a faster way for me to learn python unlike the methods I was subjected to while at university. On the other hand I have come to understand how business ideas are birthed, involving the end-user, something known as Human Centered design. I have also had an opportunity to work with a team of five ladies to discover challenges faced by a low income crafts making business in Uganda and design a solution to improve their incomes.
The list of the things that have spoken to me through the course of this program is endless but I will be a cheat if I didn’t share these two principles that have significantly transformed my life and aroused my ambition. The trim tag principle; few adjustments can tremendously change the course of your life. The other one is self-competition vs competing with others; the insight in this is that when you compete with yourself, the goal is to be your very best, you have no limit and seek to do things better than you did previously, instead of being satisfied with reaching where your competitors are. One last lesson especially from the technical part of the program is “fake it until you get it right”. The programmers will bear me witness on this, it’s very hard to get programs running the very first time you work on them but with persistence and dedication, you always get it right.
WOPA is a thrilling experience and I look forward to using the knowledge I have acquired to teach and mentor ladies in my area of influence. I truly appreciate the great job that the facilitators are doing and I will forever be grateful for their commitment to the class. What an amazing opportunity to be a part of such a transformational program.
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