Apart from being a project evaluation officer for the government, Filipino STEMinist Sarah Jane Fabito is also an active youth leader and SDG advocate. As if these were not enough, she is also currently the Executive Director of WiTech Batangas, a provincial chapter of Women in Tech, or WiTech, an organization that addresses the comparative lack of women in technology-related fields.

To date, her work in WiTech Batangas hugely revolves around her brainchild project WiCode for Kids, a program that aims to teach children the basics of coding. Sarah shares her experiences, trials, and learnings as one of WiTech’s many far-reaching arms.

How did you get involved with WiTech? What made you decide to start the Batangas chapter for WiTech?

It was in 2019 when I first met Audrey Pe, the founder of WiTech, at an event. She was one of the speakers and presented statistics showing the inequality and stereotypes women face in the tech industry. Back then, it was difficult for me to believe the data since I grew up in an environment
where there was no discrimination among girls. But then, it made me realize that back in college, there were indeed more men in my computer science classes, and many of my friends taking engineering courses were men. Although I had been made aware of this pressing issue then, it was only in the middle of the 2020 pandemic when Audrey and I reconnected. We had an online call since she was already a freshman at Stanford. During the lockdown, I was stuck in the city and could not go home to my hometown in Batangas for a year. According to Relief International, Batangas was one of the most at-risk areas in the world in 2020, having experienced two consecutive disasters: the Taal Volcano eruption and the COVID-19 pandemic. This series of disasters exacerbated the challenges students face at schools. I know I can do something to help my community, particularly in uplifting the girls and ensuring they are not left behind. For me, supporting them is important because the more we empower girls, the more we can change the world.

WiCode for Kids is one of your biggest projects. How did it come about? What inspired you to start it?

The idea came to me in 2021. We spearheaded an activity called “WiCode”, a coding bootcamp for professionals who want to shift into a career in tech. I am passionate about education, and I love teaching kids. I thought, why not teach coding to 6-year old kids as well? Studies show that most of a person’s
brain development happens at a young age. Later on, I discovered that the best innovators in the world, such as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerbreg started to learn coding when they were still children. We live in the digital era, but not everyone knows how to read and write code. At WiCode for Kids, we not only let our students play a game but also teach them how to create a game. Who knows? One of our students might become one of the greatest innovators of the future.

What are the biggest challenges that you have encountered so far as CEO of WiTech’s Batangas chapter?

The biggest challenge for me so far is retaining volunteers. As a start-up, we can’t afford to pay our staff yet. This means I can’t expect their total commitment, and there would be times when people just come and go. Everyone, including me, is doing this on the side. To run our project effectively, we need full-time and dedicated staff to implement our projects.

What has been your most fulfilling moment so far? What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned while on WiTech? It would be the time when we won first place during YSEALI’s pitching competition and received a seed grant worth $4,000. It helped us pilot test our project where we immediately saw the demand from parents who want their kids to learn to code. This experience taught me not to be afraid to share your big ideas with the world because there’s always a possibility to know and meet people who will likewise believe in your idea. After all, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. So try, try, and try until something happens.

Rumor has it that you’re into working out. What sports have you been doing lately? I usually train for triathlons and learn new jump rope routines in my free time. My next goal is to run my first full marathon next year. Recently, I have become interested in Muay Thai and boxing as part of my cross-training.