Speaker
Description
Over nearly five years, Elimisha Msichana Elimisha Jamii (EMEJA) has delivered measurable gains in girls’ education across rural Kenya and Uganda. Our volunteer network(~200 volunteers, ~80% female) has reached nearly 40,000 schoolgirls, their parents and teachers across 40 schools. We have paired (with life-long mentors) and tracked ~5,000 mentees since 2020 with biannual check-ins and targeted home visits, enabling rapid interventions for at-risk girls—resulting in 196 confirmed school re-enrolments. We have fully equipped physics labs and donated 30 computers to 5 rural secondary schools; trained ~4,500 girls in annual our Astro-STEM workshops; trained ~4,500 girls in basic computer skills; trained 120 STEM teachers on gender-sensitive instruction and practical pedagogy (now benefiting thousands of students across the region); and, provided emergency scholarships for ~30 most vulnerable girls to continue/complete secondary education.
Our annual curriculum-aligned 2-day Astro-STEM workshops &Computer literacy training combine astronomy, physics, mathematics, computers and practical experiments with mentorship and community dialogues. These activities have raised STEM confidence and aspiration amongst these girls, improved lesson quality and—reinforcing sustained learning gains.
Key impacts of the STEM workshops include:improvements in STEM engagement and grades; dramatic increase in girls choosing Physics (e.g.,1600% in one school); a rise in interest in STEM careers from 38% pre-workshop to 78% post-workshop. Additionally, our computer donations have catalysed the establishment of computer labs in these schools, allowing accredited computer studies to be offered locally and thus improving tertiary/employability prospects—previously unavailable. Headteachers are reporting higher enrolment and reduced absenteeism;participant testimony+teacher feedback underscore gains in confidence, aspirations, and classroom participation.
I will show how EMEJA’s model: modular, low-cost and community-rooted approach can be replicable across other regions in Africa. Scalable components include: (1)curriculum-aligned Astro-STEM modules adaptable to local labs; (2)lifelong mentor pairing+biannual tracking systems; (3)school-specific lab kits and shared digital resources; and (4)teacher training focused on gender-responsive, low-resource pedagogy.
| Stream | Education, Development and Outreach |
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