BY MEHARI BEYENE
Stem power has used three forms of accessing educational training available for segment groups although there are many constraints. Here is how stem power is doing its level best in bringing educational trainings in various forms.
1) Torit TVET program
Due to heavy rains preventing transport across South Sudan, we searched for alternative hosting sites for our STEM Centers. At the same time, the South Sudanese national TVET system (focused on Technical and Vocational Education and Training) had been searching for greater relevance beyond the manual construction trades e.g. carpentry, plumbing, sewing uniforms.
The town of Torit, a 3 hours’ drive east of the national capital Juba, has a large TVET campus. That TVET was teaching computer principles but had only 1 functioning computer. STEMpower re-routed its STEM Center lab equipment (30-workstation Virtual Computer Lab, 3D printer, Electronics Lab, Basic Sciences Lab, and furniture), originally intended for an unreachable university. We also installed 15 kW of solar power, needed at all South Sudan sites. In only a few days, the Torit TVET STEM Center was alive and active!
2) Kality Prison School (Ethiopia)
Prisoners remanded to Ethiopia’s federal central prison have few choices after release, causing many to re-offend. To reverse that negative outcome, the wardens asked STEMpower to intervene. Could our sophisticated hands-on education courses offer an alternative path, providing each released prisoner a better chance at a life-changing career?
Instead of endlessly theorizing about that idea, our experiment has already started! STEMpower set up Electronics and Virtual computer labs creating opportunities for the prisoners. The prisoners are no longer limited to basic handcraft works; now they can practice and develop projects in modern labs. As students, they feel less isolated from the rest of the world, giving them hope that they can catch up with new technologies during their prison times.
3) Nehemia Autistic STEM Center (Ethiopia)
There is a theory that some forms of Autism syndrome are a result of too much information racing in the brain, causing a child to move to a place of absolute isolation.
But that location may cut off the child sufferer from society, or simply be bored. If a child could interact deeply within a quiet engaging educational space, perhaps the brilliance inside students will have an outlet.
Early indications are that the Ethiopian children suffering from Autism do indeed quickly engage and are challenged by their new access to much equipment, melting away many barriers.
STEMpower established the virtual computer lab at the center that promotes the children’s cognitive growth through gaming activities.
In addition to this, STEMpower has exerted its maximum effort in job creation. Youth unemployment has been a huge challenge for Ethiopia. The nation’s Job Creation Commission estimates a 14 million jobs shortfall by 2025, which has prompted a national plan to build a vibrant private sector through support to Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises.
STEMpower has entered a partnership agreement with VISA, the world leader in digital payments, to support the Ethiopian jobs creation initiative by supporting young innovators to establish and grow their technically-oriented SMEs.
The STEMpower-VISA partnership will benefit 3,600 youth in three years, by fostering an entrepreneurial mindset and equipping participants with the skills that bridge the gap between being a STEM innovator and a successful entrepreneur.
At the partnership announcement, local banks Bank of Abyssinia and Berhan Bank pledged to support the successful implementation of the program, by facilitating credit lines for the innovators and by availing digital and online banking.
For its part, STEMpower will use its vast array of Ethiopian STEM Centers and FabLabs as sites for training, incubation, and acceleration services while tracking Key Performance Indicators of the job-creating innovators.
The Ethiopian Herald February 19/2021
