Omaima Kilani

Libya

If you were to ask girls in Libya about Omima Al Kilani, they would respond with love, enthusiasm and gratitude.

Although 29-year-old Omima is currently in Germany pursuing her MBA, the impact of her organization She Codes, which she founded in her country nearly two years ago, is still resonating today.

“I founded a charity to teach girls coding,” she says proudly. She wanted to teach the girls to fish instead of giving them fresh catch each day.

“Why coding specifically? Because it has changed my life and I wanted to change their lives”.

Omima goes back to a few years ago, and although she had a stable job, the world of technology had always captivated her and drove her to ask endless questions.

Her first steps in the coding world were with the One Million Arab Coders initiative after she encountered an ad on social media that said: “Codes and letters that can make the world a better place and help millions of people”.

She explains about the chills she had when she thought about changing the reality of Libyan girls and equipping them with skills for the future.

Omima recalls how she pursued her lessons at night after hours, and with every skill she gained, she could change the lives of many.

She graduated from the initiative and earned the nano-degree scholarship. She now knows the importance of coding in terms of working remotely, changing the way one thinks and breaking any limitations or restrictions that keep us from achieving our dreams.

She Codes has grown into the Ummi (Literate) platform, which aims to eradicate illiteracy in Libyan society. She is confident and is achieving her dream.

Today, Omima spends long hours of her day pursuing her MBA while building the foundations of the “Ummi” platform to teach coding and business administration remotely to Libyan boys and girls.

She is dedicated to making her experiences and knowledge available to everyone in society, no matter the distance between them. She says that coding is extending bridges and helping dreams come true, making “the world kinder!”