Summer tech camps teach children coding and robotics in CameroonCEFR B2
8 Jul 2025
Adapted from Cynthia Ebot Takang, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Adeniji Abdullahi A, Unsplash
During the long summer break many parents in Cameroon are enrolling children in coding, robotics and artificial intelligence programmes because advanced technology is changing work and education. A striking moment came in Yaounde when a four-year-old presented at a Demo Day after a five-week AI boot camp for children. The team showed an interactive game that recommends healthy meals by age, health and gender; the tool was inspired by the team leader’s pregnant mother. The 2024 edition was organised by the Kitadis boot camp, which continued into 2025.
In Ngoa-Ekelle the Kitadis Centre is full by 9 am with children aged four to thirteen. The camp is led by Star Light Inc founder Mabu Celeb Njienyo, who says that many complain but few use technology to solve problems. Registration is FCFA 10,000 and tuition FCFA 20,000. The programme finishes with a Demo Day and organisers often create tech clubs in students’ schools after the course.
At BLIS Global Center in Biyem-Assi Lac children start at 8 am, wear lab coats and work with robots, 3D printers and basic mechanical systems. Technical director Che Emmanuel Anye says, “The language of tomorrow won’t be English or French, it’s technology.” BLIS Global runs a three-year programme beginning at age six; the annual fee is FCFA 100,000 (USD 167). Sister Balbine Lemana of Sainte Rita Orphanage sent ten children to the centre through sponsors and says the training helped them see the value of technical education and building things.
- Child-made projects include a power bike prototype.
- Other projects are an electronic walking stick for blind people.
- Children also built a self-functioning trash bin.
Cameroonian officials such as Godson Muluh, National Pedagogic Inspector for computer sciences and winner of the 2024 Google Gemini AI Competition, urge early tech education. Classrooms that once focused on chalk now teach code and design, and many children plan to pursue more technical education to solve real problems in their communities.
Difficult words
- enroll — sign children up for a course or programmeenrolling
- artificial intelligence — computer systems that perform human-like tasks
- boot camp — short intensive training course over weeks
- interactive — allowing two-way communication with users
- prototype — first working model used to test ideas
- tuition — money paid for attending a course
- pedagogic — relating to teaching methods and education
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you think starting technical education at age four is helpful? Give reasons and examples from the article or your experience.
- How might programmes like the Kitadis boot camp change education and job opportunities in a community?
- What barriers could prevent families from accessing these summer tech camps, and how might communities reduce them?
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