Metro Atlanta tech program for refugees opens doors to careers in a growing industry

Ref Code is a free coding bootcamp led by software engineers that teaches refugees how to code and other tech skills. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Twenty-six-year-old Blisha Magar is one of 20 refugees working away in a classroom during a free computer coding boot camp called Refcode. The program, led by software engineers, teaches refugees tech skills.

On Magar’s screen is a website she made with two furry monsters, one blue and one orange. They look ready for lunch.

“I’m going to add a burger, pizza, broccoli and a cookie on the side,” Magar says.

Brenton Strine, a software engineer, who started the Ref Code program in 2017, encourages participants to continue to grow their software skills on the last day of the bootcamp. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

A hospice care worker, she’s originally from Nepal. Magar is flexing the skills she learned in the boot camp to practice creating a website pixel, which reacts when you hover a mouse on it. She clicks the burger and drags her cursor over the monster.