Summer tech camps teach children coding and robotics in CameroonCEFR B1
8 Jul 2025
Adapted from Cynthia Ebot Takang, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Adeniji Abdullahi A, Unsplash
Across Cameroon, summer holiday camps now teach children coding, robotics and basic artificial intelligence as families prepare for a changing job market. In Yaounde a four-year-old presented work at a Demo Day after a five-week AI boot camp for kids. The team displayed an interactive game to help choose healthy meals based on age, health and gender; the idea came from the team leader’s pregnant mother. The Kitadis boot camp ran a 2024 edition and continued into 2025.
The Kitadis Centre in Ngoa-Ekelle fills by 9 am with children aged four to thirteen. The camp is run by Star Light Inc founder Mabu Celeb Njienyo. Registration costs FCFA 10,000 and tuition FCFA 20,000. After the camp, organisers hold a Demo Day and help set up tech clubs in students’ schools.
At BLIS Global Center in Biyem-Assi Lac children work in lab coats with robots, 3D printers and basic mechanical systems. Projects made by children include a power bike prototype, an electronic walking stick for blind people and a self-functioning trash bin. Cameroon’s National Pedagogic Inspector for computer sciences, Godson Muluh, who won the 2024 Google Gemini AI Competition, urges early tech education and notes that holidays are a chance to learn technology skills.
Difficult words
- artificial intelligence — computer systems that can perform human-like tasks
- boot camp — short intensive course to learn specific skills
- interactive — allowing two way communication or user control
- tuition — money paid for attending a course
- registration — the process of signing up or enrolling
- prototype — first working model used to test ideas
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you think holiday camps are a good place for children to learn technology skills? Why or why not?
- Which project made by the children (power bike prototype, electronic walking stick, or self-functioning trash bin) would help your community most? Explain.
- How could schools use the tech clubs that organisers help set up after the camp? Give one or two ideas.
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