For Linn Latt Yamone—“Mo” to her friends—the dream of becoming a software engineer once felt out of reach. “I had the passion,” she shares, “but without the right knowledge, equipment, or resources, it seemed impossible.”Everything changed when Mo joined DevChamps, Equitech Collective’s digital bootcamp designed to empower youth in marginalized communities with coding skills.
Linn describes DevChamps as “a door to a dream.” For her, learning to code was like stepping into a vast playground full of tools and opportunities—but not knowing how to use them. “Equitech was like a kind mentor who took my hand, showed me how to use each tool, and then let me try on my own.”
Through patient guidance, hands-on workshops, and the encouragement to ask questions, Linn began to see herself not just as a learner, but as a future software engineer. “I used to be too shy to ask questions,” she admits.
"Now I know that asking is how you learn faster and better. It’s a lesson I’ll carry through university and beyond."
For Linn, DevChamps provided more than technical skills—it offered belonging. Workshops mixed coding with games and snacks, creating an atmosphere of joy and curiosity. “That day I felt comfortable, supported, and capable. It made me believe I could truly do this.”
Her success is a testament to what happens when opportunity meets support. Today, Linn is a second-year software engineering student at Shanghai University, determined to pay it forward: “I want others to feel their dream the way I feel mine.”
Linn’s journey is not an isolated story. As fellow DevChamps graduate Kyaw Swan Pyae Linn (Swan) explains, the program has sparked cultural change across their community.
“When we started, everything was online and self-directed,” Swan reflects. “Now, we host in-person sessions where students can learn together, meet mentors, and grow as a community. The number of students has doubled since our first cohort.”
Swan knows the stakes. Having left Myanmar due to ongoing challenges, he sees DevChamps as more than a coding bootcamp—it’s a lifeline to possibility. “Not everyone will go to university, but everyone who joins gains skills and confidence they can use in life. That’s already creating change.”
Both Linn and Swan emphasize one lesson above all: the courage to begin.
“Don’t be afraid to be a beginner,” Mo says. “Mistakes teach us and help us improve. If you’re brave enough to take the first step, the next steps become easier.”
At Equitech Collective, that first step is everything. Through DevChamps, doors once closed are opening—revealing not just paths to education or employment, but to dignity, community, and hope.
Equitech Collective
We’re a team of designers, engineers, and development practitioners building human-centred tools for systems of care. From AI for migrant health to digital IDs and innovation sandboxes, our work spans clinics, classrooms, and cross-border communities. Explore our projects, partnerships, and prototypes—each shaped with local insight, built for impact, and driven by equity.
