The way Kalifa Damani talks about technology, one would quickly assume that she is a computer nerd or a geek (and there is a difference between the two). But at the same speed at which the question is asked, she replies “no”—with a smile. She is amused when she is asked that, since technology for her is part of everyday life and not an exceptional, higher knowledge that surpasses regular folks.
“Children are already receiving laptops at school. But how do they use it to access information and improve their education? How are teachers being taught to use and embrace this technology in schools?” she asked. That is why she is determined to pursue her PhD at Cambridge University, England.
Her interest in children and youth creates the opportunity to find ways to contribute to their development. She is passionate when she speaks about this. Her words are fast, almost , coming from her slim frame. In addition, she has an opportunity to be supervised by Pauline Rose, a former director at the United Nations Organisation for Education, Science and Culture. Rose was responsible for the EFA Global Monitoring Report and directed two reports on youth, skills and work, and on teaching and learning.
Damani’s area of research for her doctorate is technology in Caribbean schools and how this could help poorer children have better access to a better education. This plan is to focus on Trinidad and Jamaica, looking at their technological status, with Singapore as the case study, which is smaller in comparison to Trinidad’s geographical size but is structurally developed and already uses technology as part of its national developmental strategy.
“One of our development goals is to be tech savvy. But there is not enough research in place here and this is a great opportunity. We are not being trained to be competitive in this digital age. We must have solid research and put solid programmes in place,” she said. “My research needs to be done, it fits well with where T&T wants to go.”
Damani’s passion for education is, perhaps, influenced by the people who surround her. Her mother is the vice principal at North Eastern College and her aunt is also in the teaching profession. Damani is also interested in children and youth. Her BA and MPhil degrees (the former is First Class Honours from UWI, St Augustine, the latter from the University of Cambridge) are based on psychology. She also speaks as a child of technology, a member of a generation who believes traditional media has been trumped by social media, if not facets of the information superhighway.
At age 26, Damani sees technology enhancing the lives of generations behind her. It already has for her. She is able to blend tradition with the new world as she uses the tradition of art and technology to create a technique that has made her quite popular. A tablet is her canvas as she lets perception and thought guide her creations.
On her Facebook page, she describes herself as a Caribbean artist. Her work is a mixture of many concepts. A feature on the black culture blog Afropunk highlighted Damani’s concept of women superheroes—shapely, powerful images of colour. She even uses local elements—factual (police officer and tassa drummer) and fantasy (soucouyant and a female “Papa Bois”) to create fantastic images.
“What influenced me to draw a lot of the women that I did was what appeared to me to be a lack of fantasy/comic/cartoon type artwork that depicted the full diversity of human beauty,” she said.
“I believe that human diversity is beautiful, and I want everyone to see and feel their beauty celebrated, and that idea carries across to my art and drives choices I make in painting my personal pieces.” Damani also creates illustrations from still photography. Among her pieces is R&B singer Janelle Monae, who made mention of the work on her social page.
Damani says art has always been a part of her. “It’s just something that I’ve always enjoyed doing,” she said. At primary school, her classmates knew she loved to draw. At St Augustine Girls’ High School, she got into painting at Form 3. Digital art started as a struggle drawing on the Microsoft Paint program when she was around 14 or 15. By then, she was intrigued by the clean artwork and the boldness of colours.
“Although I drew a lot back then using coloured pencils on paper, the colours didn’t look like what I saw on TV and in online artwork. So, I think I got into trying to draw using my mouse on Microsoft Paint just because I liked cartoons—anime and superhero ones, particularly the X-Men cartoon and I enjoyed drawing, and I wanted to achieve the look I saw on TV,” she said.
At 18, she got her first Wacom tablet and pen that made it so much easier to draw on the computer. By then she already had Photoshop that allowed her to create a darker stroke just like pencil on paper, giving a more natural flow.
Art has always sustained her. After she left school, she used her graphic skills in her role as designer of the Guardian in Education magazine. As thank -presents for people who helped her, she gave them a fine art portrait. Now, her fascination with lines and colours has become an opportunity to help get to Cambridge at an annual cost of £200,000.
So far, the response has had her in demand to the point of creating a schedule to ensure each client is properly taken care of. She continues to seek funding from other resources such as GoFundMe but in the meantime, something that gives her so much joy also supports her dream.
While she drafts her course for the next four years of her life, she already has a plan for when she returns to Trinidad. In addition to her research that can assist in developing a healthy education system, she will return to her art.
“I want to create a medium that children can interact with,” she said. “I am hoping to create and integrate.”
• Cost of a portrait is $400.
Payment can be made at www.gofundme.com//FundJendayiKalifa or Unit Trust (#5148889-002). If not a portrait, then donations are welcome. Damani says all it takes is £1 or TT$10 to help.
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