Our Moon

In the second blog of our new student series, Daniel talks about how his love of mathematics and desire to study computer science drew him to Our Moon.

Nelson Mandela once said ” I dream of the realization of unity of Africa whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses”.

I am a mathematician, a computer scientist and someone who believes innovations can make the world a better place.

Mathematics is an expression of the human mind; it reflects the active will, the contemplative reason and the desire for aesthetic perfection. Mathematics’ basic elements are logic and intuition. It leads to innovation.

My favorite story to tell is that in my grade 7 national exam I was among the best in mathematics. In my grade 9 national exam, I was yet again among the best in mathematics and in my grade 12, I received an award for best mathematics student in school. From a young age, I have always loved math; every bit of it.  I am the type of student who does calculus for fun.

Aside from my love for math, I have a deep liking for computer science, especially coding. I sometimes imagine myself in a closed room, eyes fixed on a monitor and hands resting on a keyboard busy cracking and making codes, algorithms and applications. The obvious reason why I love computer science is because it draws some of its fundamental theories from mathematics while the not so obvious reason is the fact that computer science provides a space for one to be creative and innovative. It provides a virtual playing field where one can make their dream reality.

Mathematics is an expression of the human mind; it reflects the active will, the contemplative reason and the desire for aesthetic perfection. Mathematics’ basic elements are logic and intuition. It leads to innovation.

All things put together, when I heard that our moon was offering math and coding I immediately and deeply fell in love with the program. I decided to apply. I was certain it was right place for me. Now, being here, it is a dream come true and I believe it is a doorway to bigger and brighter dreams. Once I pass through that doorway, I want to be able to give back to my community: Africa.

In a Ted Talk, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said, “The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story”. The danger of this is that people are misrepresented and not known for who they really are. I want to contribute to the ending of Africa’s stereotypes and single stories. I plan to curb this by creating websites and applications that will give the world all sides of the African story. Africa is not a country; it is a continent filled with so much diversity that just has to be shared.

So, you know I am a maths and computer science geek. But I also have a creative side to me that wishes to lead Africa into technological development and end its single stories. This will be done through sharing full stories and insights about our beautiful deserts, traditions, wilderness and amazing people to present a new cool Africa. But for now, it’s one step at a time as I head towards the bright light behind the doorway that Our Moon is building with me.