Joyce Sandra Atim is a single mother of three who came to Refactory to learn how to code after spending 7years as a stay-at-home mom. Before becoming a mom, she had worked as a Computer Lab Technician for 5years (2009 – 2014) at the College of Computing at Makerere University. Coding had always been her passion, she says, but she didn’t know where to start in the past. She was a part of the catalyst cohort 3 and with Trustful trade for her bootcamp.
That said, her journey isn’t one without challenges.
Joyce took part in the Refactory catalyst program in 2019 and was selected for the 6-month Bootcamp. But mid-way into it, the father of her children returned. He gave her an ultimatum, Joyce says: To keep doing the Refactory program or to stay at home with their kids. Joyce chose to keep pursuing her dreams. And in return, her husband kicked her out of their home and banned her from seeing her children.
Joyce refused to sign the document that was presented to her to relinquish custody over the children. She instead decided to leave them behind and get them out after she settled down. And yet that very month her husband left to go to the UK, leaving her children in the care of her in-laws.
While at Refactory,
Joyce worked on a project with Trustful Trade. At this point she was determined to learn all she could about technology and get a job in order to get her children back.
You have to keep pushing. It doesn’t matter how hard things may be. Keep going. Refactory made me strong, it gave me the most amazing gift and that was knowledge. You don’t need to know everything but be hungry for growth.
Joyce Sandra Atim
After her Bootcamp, Joyce applied for a Junior Developer position at Pivot payments and she got the job. She had worked for about 6 months and because of passion and dedication, her boss decided to train her as a data analyst. “I love data and how it speaks into better decision making. I realise now that it’s the route I am going to take for my professional growth.” Joyce shares
Joyce is currently a data analyst at Pivot Payments and has also been accepted into the UN women’s teacher training program for “An African girl can code.” Joyce now uses her Software skills to teach under-privileged Ugandan girls how to write code. And yes, she got her children back. This is the point we say ” and they all lived happily ever after.”
Whether it’s your first time writing code, or considering to kickstart your career as a software engineer, the Refactory program is designed for you to establish fundamental knowledge you need to move into advanced tech career. Visit our program page to find out how you can get started.
