Blog post
Deborah Bongiri - ICT Assistant, WFP South Sudan
"You can do anything anyone else can do."
What is your current role?
I ensure that users in whichever region that I get deployed within the country acquire the IT services needed to do their daily work. Currently am working on ensuring that the roll-out of a corporate service management tool is fully successful in the country which will help in making the significance of IT in various business units visible and breaking the invisible silos as well.
IT partnering with business is becoming more and more relevant whereby if IT gets involved in process designing, then the sky is the limit for IT to shine.
How did you come to work in ICT?
ICT was always a passion of mine that I one day dreamed would come to fulfilment. My passion for it drove me to applying for it in various organisations till when I managed to get an opportunity to work with WFP!
What do you like the most about working in ICT?
What I like most is that IT isn’t merely a support service, but a fundamental contributor to emergency response. And most times when you see the smiles on people’s faces (especially in emergency locations) after a service is rendered, it’s so satisfying (though when services get interrupted, people forget so soon and the pressure is at its highest peak from all corners; be it an emergency or not!).
Also the teamwork amongst colleagues at work and support from IT management where need be creates a good environment for sharing innovative ideas in different situations.
What challenges do you face as a woman in ICT?
It’s a bit challenging, given the fact that few women in my country are willing to take up IT practically, considering it to be a man’s arena and when seen on rooftops doing installations, it gets harder.
What message do you have to encourage girls and young women considering careers in ICT?
They can do anything anybody else can do, only them can do it better (Quote from “gifted hands”)
| Working in a rebel controlled area to deliver ETC services for two weeks whereby as your mind is focussed on the work that has to be accomplished, your ears are alert for any emergency calls from security to run to the bunkers. Working in such tense environments are memories that I treasure and given the fact that despite the surroundings, work gets done and people are happy. |
Deborah Bongiri Geri
ICT Assistant, World Food Programme (WFP)
Wunrok/ Abyei, South Sudan
For International Girls in ICT Day 2016, the ETC celebrates women from across the network who ignore the stereotypes to not only pursue their passion in ICT, but to help the lives of others.
Through the stories and the words of these women, the ETC network supports the global Girls in ICT movement, encouraging girls and young women to pursue studies and careers in ICT.
Celebrated on the 4th Thursday in April every year, International Girls in ICT Day is an International Telecommunications Union (ITU) initiative backed by all ITU Member States, that aims to create a global environment that empowers and encourages girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of information and communication technologies (ICTs).
