Japnit and Shaniya’s Go Girl Foundation Makes Digital Literacy a Guarantee, Not a Privilege

Fathers introducing children to their childhood passion projects is not unheard of. So when Japnit’s father sat her down to show her Facebook’s source code, it felt like a natural extension of that. Turns out it was much more; it was the seed of the Go Girls Organisation. 

Hooked on coding and all things computers, Japnit joined her school's computer club. However, little did she know she was seen only as an inclusivity representative, not a serious learner. Over the course of her schooling years, she faced several such instances where, for varied reasons, girls' participation in learning computer skills was always lesser than that of boys. 

Before heading for a scholarship in Singapore, she took matters into her own hands by organising a girls-only workshop with female mentors. This event set the ball rolling for the Go Girl Humanitarian Foundation. 

The foundation equips girls in less privileged communities with computer skills through free workshops. Its vision is clear as day: “a world where digital access is a guarantee, not a privilege.”

It was during this time, when the organisation was running multiple chapters across India, that Japnit met Shaniya Khan. “I met Shaniya when she was hired as a volunteer project manager, along with a group of five to six other volunteers,” says Japnit.“She stood out from the very start … Within the first couple of months of joining, she brought in a whole new nonprofit to work with and started a fresh program completely from scratch,” she adds. 

A turning point then further cemented Shaniya’s role. An AI Engineer herself, Shaniya is now the Chief Operating Officer at Go Girl Organisation, leading curriculum, operations and partnerships.

Between the two of them, Japnit entered the Girl-Centered Incubator Fellowship. From hereon, the Go Girls Organisation transformed from a passion project to a professional organisation, complete with documentation, processes, and accountability structures. 

In her words, Japnit shares her takeaway from the three-year fellowship: “It gave me perspectives I couldn't have gotten any other way."