The top 10 CNN heroes of 2018 is a platform to celebrate 10 remarkable trailblazers who have truly changed the world and found ways to use their knowledge and inspiration to help others.
Each of these heroes will receive a $10,000 cash prize. One of the 10 will be named “CNN Hero of the Year,” and receive an additional $100,000 for his or her cause.
One of the top 10 CNN heroes of 2018 is a Nigerian, Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin.
Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin is a computer programmer and the founder of Pearls Africa Foundation. A foundation that has helped more than 400 disadvantaged girls from the ages of 10 to 17 gain technical skills and confidence they need to transform their lives.
Through the foundation’s free GirlsCoding program, young girls get to be trained in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, and Scratch.
They also have the opportunity to visit tech companies to help them visualize themselves joining the industry. Most of these girls are from the slums and other challenging circumstances, such as orphanages, correctional homes and even a camp for those who’ve had to flee Boko Haram militants.
Abisoye left her career to teach computer programming to girls in Lagos, Nigeria where Facebook and Google opened offices earlier this year. A 2013 survey found that less than 8% of Nigerian women are employed in professional, managerial or technology jobs, and she hopes to change that statistic. She says “Technology is a space that’s dominated by men. Why should we leave that to guys?”
Abisoye began her journey with a computer at the age of 10 while on school break, at a business center run by her brother’s friend where she learned how to type and modify text in Microsoft Word, from there her love for computer grew and she joined an IT firm as an intern after high school, where she was introduced to the world of computer programming.
Today, Abisoye is solving problems regarding less privileged girls through computer programming. So many young girls through her foundation have been to build apps and innovate new ideas to change their communities.
You can vote for her as the CNNHero of the year by clicking this link https://l.instagram.com/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2FSPECIALS%2Fcnn.heroes%2Fvote%2F&e=ATNH8j-Vimpzu9HLlYgbIMZYP6I0SZxJUOr_gucWrPfknUE0SAsfszGXZIrtynexxdz4w6_LLMs1aWki