dyton mupawaenda
Phillipa Mukome Chinhoi-Youth lnteractive Correspondent
20-year-old Audry Ashleen Chivanga is a young girl with great ambitions.
Her life experiences have pushed her to come up with an application that will help reduce long queues in hospitals.
She hails from Seke Chitungwiza, a place that has seen her grow and evolve.
Her early education was at Fungisai in Seke, where she completed her primary school education in 2015, boasting a score of four units.
Chivanga had dreams, like any other child and she aspired to attend one of the best schools in Zimbabwe.
However, financial constraints meant that these dreams would remain just dreams.
Life has a way of making things work as she says by God’s grace, she found herself at Seke 1 High School.
It wasn’t just any school, it was the institution that moulded and shaped her character and set her on the path she walks today.
“My efforts bore fruit when I completed my Ordinary level, securing the second-best student prize with a commendable 9As,” said Chivanga.
“My journey continued at Seke 1 High for my Advanced level. I thank The Bantwana Initiative who generously covered my school fees. I took a bold step, one that few girls dared to take and I chose Physics as a major subject. The journey was tough, but my determination, resilience, and sheer hard work saw me through, earning me an A in this challenging subject.”
She had acceptance letters from various institutions including University of Zimbabwe and Midlands State University School of Medicine.
“NUST even scheduled me for a medical interview but destiny had other plans. I was blessed to win a scholarship from the MasterCard Foundation at the African Leadership University. Today, I stand tall as one of the few women in technology, pursuing a degree in Software Engineering,” she explained.
Chivanga said her mother is her biggest motivation.
She said during her gap year, she took care of her grandmother, who was diabetic, every time she went for check-ups with her, they would spend the whole day in the queue.
“I didn’t like this because my grandmother suffered in the long queues, in her old age condition and it was horrible.”
She witnessed a child who died in the queue while the mother was carrying him.
“It’s something that pained me and I vowed to do something. I believe that if only he had received medical attention on time, he would have been saved.”
However, the application that she is still working on integrates remote scheduling, doctor’s availability checking, nearest free hospital recommendation, and self-service kiosk as well as virtual queuing.
All these are solutions she crafted to solve long queues to minimise queueing and save patients time as well as deliver faster services to patients.
“Currently, I’m channelling my energy into developing an application that aims to reduce the long patient waiting times prevalent in African hospitals. My research paper, titled “Prioritising patient-centric care,” delves into the same issue. “My vision is to collaborate with health professionals and institutions to refine my application, eventually integrating it with Artificial Intelligence systems. SDG3 is a cause close to my heart.”
“I want our hospitals to be ready to provide service to any patient entering the hospital. I envision a future where hospitals are close to queue-free. Hospitals use more automation to minimise errors and improve service. Hospitals which are digitally active, “she said
Chivanga has been part of communities like ‘Girls in Tech Zimbabwe’ and ‘Girl Up’, they have fuelled her passion and ambition.
“They’ve instilled in me the belief that being a girl child is not a limitation but an opportunity to soar. This year, I had the honour of attending the COSAA 2023 at Strathmore Kenya, the Women Deliver 2023, the Inclusive Fintech forum, and presenting my research paper at the 2023 Deep Learning Indabax in Accra, Ghana, “she said
She believes that every girl child, irrespective of financial barriers or any other challenges, deserves an education. They should never be left behind.
Today, she stands as a beacon of hope and inspiration for many, advocating for girls and urging them to venture into STEM.
Online Reporter