Funmi Ogundare
Sahara Group Foundation has inaugurated the second edition of its Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths (STEAM) educational initiative, themed ‘Sahara STEAMers Programme’, designed to inspire, equip and empower young African students with the practical knowledge, skills and innovative mindset required to proffer sustainable solutions to the communal and societal problems affecting Africa.
The Sahara STEAMers programme, launched in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, is in partnership with STEMCafe, a non-linear learning centre, to create an opportunity for young people to have access to world-class maker labs, participate in a deep dive learning experience and get immersed in a practical classroom that would inspire them to tackle prevalent challenges within their communities.
The programme participants will engage in a series of practical workshops, vision boarding exercises and mentoring sessions involving STEMCafe trainers and Sahara Foundation staff volunteers.
Speaking during the programme, the director of Sustainability and Governance, Sahara Group, Ejiro Gray, noted that the initiative aligns with Sahara Group’s commitment to promoting sustainable development in Africa by helping to raise a new generation of social innovators capable of accelerating Africa’s development.
‘’At Sahara Foundation, we believe in the potential that Africa’s young generation has in shaping the continent’s development,” said Gray. “Through STEAMers, we can help them tap into that potential because they possess the ideas, creativity and great energy to generate widespread positive social change in Africa’.”
Addressing the students, the founder of STEMCafe, Bosun Tijani, stated, “This partnership has given us the opportunity to expose more young secondary school students across the continent to STEAM education and its application towards solving real-life problems, thus, helping us to raise a new generation of changemakers across Africa.”
He challenged the students to take advantage of the opportunity, as it has the capacity to set them on an inspiring and ambitious pathway.
