Little girl, big ideas… Nana Oye, 10, uses coding to promote clean environment

‎At an early age when many children are still discovering the world around them, 10-year-old Nana Oye Darkoa Duah-Boateng is already exploring how to change it, using coding and animation to turn the problem of plastic waste into a lesson in environmental protection.

‎The young pupil of Heaven Dew Montessori in Koforidua has created an educational animation using Scratch, a visual coding platform, to teach people about the circular economy and the importance of keeping their surroundings clean.

‎Trained by M-Hub Technology, a Ghanaian organisation promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education through its Girls in STEM initiative, Nana Oye is using her newly acquired skills to encourage people to see waste not as useless rubbish, but as a resource that can be transformed into valuable products.

‎Her animation features a teacher explaining the circular economy, demonstrating how waste can be separated into different bins and how discarded plastics can be recycled into useful items rather than left to pollute the environment.

‎Speaking to The Spectator, Nana Oye said the coding training had inspired her to explore how technology could educate people and address environmental challenges.

‎She said she collaborated with her friends to develop the concept, create the animation and provide voice-overs to communicate their message.

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‎”I came up with the idea together with my friends to do an animation and do voice-overs. In it, we talk about how we can pick plastics that have been littered around to create usable products like flower vases,” she said.

‎For Nana Oye, keeping the environment clean was essential to human survival, making it everyone’s responsibility to protect it for present and future generations.

‎She acknowledged the contributions of Nelly Adjeiwaah Tetteh Quaye, Shannelle Owusu, Hamida Adams, Nana Ama Effah, Briana Jenkins Appiah, Charlene Baah and Jael Odehye Adu Gyamfi in developing the concept and animation.

‎She recently presented the project at the 2026 Ghana Circular Economy Annual Conference, organised by Ho Technical University in collaboration with Canada, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the Ghana Circular Economy Centre (GCEC), where she led her group in presenting a similar project they had developed.

‎Beyond environmental advocacy, Nana Oye dreams of becoming a medical doctor.

‎She hoped to combine medicine with technology by using coding to educate people about the importance of good quality healthcare.

‎She also urged parents to empower their daughters with technological skills, saying girls could excel in STEM and develop solutions to challenges facing their communities.

‎The Programme Manager of M-Hub Technology, Enoch Kekeli, said Nana Oye had benefited from the organisation’s practical coding training.

‎He explained that its Girls in STEM initiative sought to nurture confident, innovative and economically empowered young women by equipping them with practical skills in coding, artificial intelligence, robotics and other emerging technologies.

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‎The programme has directly reached 20 girls and indirectly impacted hundreds more through a strategy that trains participants to share their knowledge and inspire other girls.

‎Participants also received training in leadership, public speaking, mentorship, career guidance, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

‎Mr Kekeli said environmental education was an important component of the initiative, adding that the organisation’s participation in the Ghana Circular Economy Conference exposed the girls to environmental challenges and demonstrated how STEM could contribute to sustainable solutions.

‎For Nana Oye, a discarded plastic bottle need not remain rubbish, and a young girl need not wait until adulthood to make a difference. 

‎With imagination, coding skills and the right training, she is showing how technology can inspire environmental responsibility and empower girls to become creators of change.

‎From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua