Sparking curiosity for STEM fields in African and Black women and girls with Alison Tuiyott
Founder of Zawadi.Co and Author of Adventures with Amani
Introducing Alison Tuiyott
As a child, Alison Tuiyott was fascinated by math and engineering but saw very little representation of women and - even more so - women of racial and ethnic minorities in books and real-life interactions encouraging the pursuit of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in their education and lifelong careers. As she advanced in her own education, she began to see fewer and fewer classmates and mentors who looked like her. Realizing that the field needed more young, curious, engaged, and supported minds in the fields of data science and technology, she founded The Zawadi Company to advocate for the representation of African and Black women in these fields.
In her first book Adventures with Amani, Alison uses inspiration from her early years in Kenya to tell the story of Amani, a fifth grader living in Kenya who embarks on a journey to discover what she wants to be when she grows up - meeting many strong women along the way.
In this short feature, Alison shares more about Zawadi and Adventures with Amani.
What is the origin story of Zawadi?
Alison: “Zawadi” in Swahili means gift. It’s a gift to be a zealous African/Black woman advancing data science innovation. Our mission [at Zawadi] is to educate African/Black women and girls about the field of data science.
How would you describe the connection of Zawadi to your community?
Alison: We want to provide the tools necessary to spark interest, develop an understanding of, feel included in, and empowered to join the tech industry. We believe capacity-building in this area will help open up opportunities for many more to follow.
What is an emotional milestone you have experienced while growing Zawadi?
Alison: We recently self-published our first children’s book titled Adventures with Amani. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences to date and is a reflection of our growth as a company.
Could you provide a brief description of Adventures with Amani?
Alison: Amani is a young Nairobi girl who just started Grade Five. After an assembly with the headmistress, Amani starts to think about what she wants to be when she grows up. She sets off on a full day of adventure with her mother through her town and learns about the different careers of strong, powerful women in her community. On their journey, they meet all kinds of women who show Amani their various careers and talents.
From a project that began in 2020, Amani's story was destined to be shared with the world. Adventures with Amani is a self-published book created to reach young African/Black readers. The sole purpose is to spark interest in the data science space. We want to show that anyone can be a data scientist and curiosity is beautiful.
What is an important message you want to share about Zawadi’s mission?
Alison: I believe we have strength in numbers. Whether you are interested in data modeling, data analytics, data engineering, machine learning engineering, or other intersections across data and engineering, we can open the door to knowledge and help build the capacity needed to excel in these fields.
So, where can readers find out more?
You can learn more about Zawadi.Co and get your own copy of Adventures with Amani at www.shopthezawadi.com. For other updates, follow Zawadi.Co on Instagram @shopthezawadi.
Thank you, Alison, for sharing your gift and passion with us.
Happy community-building!