Meetup Overview
- University: Fourah Bay College (FBC)
- Date: 11 July 2025
- Venue: Tunde Cole Building
- Organising Team: Iyeba Kallon, Abubakarr Sesay, Alusine Swaray, Bailor Njai, Alhaji Musa Sesay, Rugiatu Marion Kargbo
- Total Attendees: 31 students checked in and participated
Discussion Topic / Theme
“Tech for Good: The DPG Campus Movement @ FBC”
Guest Speakers / Stakeholders
- Abdul Rahim Jalloh – Ministry of Communication, Technology & Innovation
- Sparrow – Open-source contributor who landed a job through DPG Pipeline contributions.
Key Insights / Highlights
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We introduced Digital Public Goods (DPGs) and discussed tools currently in use in Sierra Leone, including the Result Checker built on RapidPro and the Ministry of Health’s use of DHIS2
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The DPG Pipeline Platform was mentioned, a new initiative that will help spotlight local DPG tools students can directly collaborate on giving them structured entry points into open-source work.
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Sparrow shared his journey, starting by adding just a button to an open-source platform he used, showing students that contribution starts small
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He emphasized that contributing to existing tools is often more impactful (and realistic) than cloning paid apps from scratch
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We guided students toward open-source alternatives of the apps they already use, encouraging them to build on and contribute to those instead
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The session helped students see that you don’t have to be an expert to start, just contribute what you know, and grow from there
Challenges or Lessons Learned
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One of our opening speakers (part of the organizing team) went slightly off-topic, so we had to gently steer the conversation back, we’ll now review speaker alignment more thoroughly in future sessions.
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Our audience had a diverse background a mix of developers and non-technical participants but the discussion leaned too technical. We will host a follow-up beginner-friendly session focused on non-developer pathways to contributing to DPGs, including design, content, community building, and research.
What’s Next?
With exams starting next week at Fourah Bay College, we’ll be taking a short pause but our momentum continues behind the scenes.
Here’s what we’re planning during the break and immediately after exams:
- Follow up with attendees to understand their interests and guide them toward specific contribution paths (code, design, documentation, etc.)
- Assign roles and learning guides to help students get started whether that’s setting up GitHub, exploring UI/UX, or joining existing DPG projects
- Research and shortlist open-source tools and DPGs that align with local needs and where student contributions can add real value
- Map out post-exam sessions, including hands-on workshops and community projects that allow students to contribute meaningfully
We’re building slowly but intentionally. The goal is to turn curiosity into contribution.
