Samy Natho Jina is an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Year 12 student at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. In addition to being an informed global citizen, Samy is a skilled and talented self-taught computer coder. Currently pursuing Information Technology in a Global Society at higher level as part of his IB Diploma, he strives to derive ways through which he can use information technology (IT) to create value in today’s society and tackle social and ethical issues. He says, “Building systems is not enough; for me, considering the impact on the stakeholder’s life is also a key factor.”

Samy’s passion for computers began on his sixth birthday when he received a “slow and old Acer laptop.” He says that because the laptop was too slow to play computer games, he used his time to explore the computer’s settings and discovered all the features that were being offered by Windows XP. As a result of his vivid curiosity and experimental nature, Samy unknowingly installed virus software which caused the computer to crash. Determined to fix his computer, Samy tried all the possible methods to restore it: he sought advice from many adults, attempted creative problem-solving techniques, and even visited a computer scientist to figure out what was happening.

Ultimately, Samy’s curiosity and determination led him to discover that this – dealing with computers and software – was what he wanted to do for a living in the future. Samy now aspires to develop his skills at university through studying software engineering and computer science.

Along with being a hardworking IB student, Samy is constantly working on new applications, coding new projects, and making apps for various companies. The first app he created was for his parents to help their pharmaceutical company handle online business management, archive files and track sales. He created another security software for a non-profit organisation for referencing and tracking individuals for an event. Samy also designed an advanced website for a TEDx event in Mombasa, Kenya where he added security and ticketing features. Samy comments, “As my understanding increases so does my passion.” An extremely driven individual, he also uses online platforms such as OpenClassrooms to learn coding languages like HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, PHP5, jQuery and others, for which he has also gained many certificates. “With each new language I learn, I become more excited about that field,” Samy explains.

Samy believes that in five to ten years the whole world will depend more on information technology than it currently does today. He believes that there is a great future in developing modern technologies for medical applications, and wishes to be at the core of the technological development that will advance medical health applications. Samy believes in practical application along with theoretical learning and is working hard to bring about a positive change.

Samy is extremely grateful for the opportunities he has been granted to use his skills for the betterment of the local community with support from the encouraging environment at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. Samy says, “For each and every project, I have spent countless nights out of my own free will fixing incorrect lines of code. It is my dream to make sure this talent and passion I have for software development and computers can be used to make this world a better place.”

By Khushboo Shah