STEM Education in Botswana: Girls Getting Geeky

2020 was a very difficult year for the world affecting us economically and psychosocially. The children and families at Stepping stones International were especially affected in lock down with schools closed, jobs halted and family violence increased. Our psychosocial support staff and community service providers visited and assessed more than 200 households and children during the national lockdowns. SSI provided homework packets, referrals to clinical services and counselling services.  More than 50% of the families needed immediate attention and support.

It is in this light that Stepping Stones International reassessed our services and is moving to become more digital and environmentally friendly. This quarter SSI has focused on identifying a case management system to better track and manage our clients, a new server and cloud for improving our knowledge management and creating policies and guidelines to become more ‘green’.  The children have started to recycle and SSI is investigating solar panels given the frequent electricity interruptions.

Furthermore, this quarter we recruited more adolescents from households in need, especially those highly affected by gender-based violence, child-neglect and poverty. We recruited 64 adolescents from different schools including primary and junior schools, giving us a total of 120 adolescents attending after school services daily. These adolescents are offered nutritional meals daily at the centre, counselling, life skills and educational activities including tutoring and English literacy lessons. They are also offered transport from school to the centre and to their homes every day.  The services are being included in the digital system to better serve the child’s and family’s specific needs.

The new recruits are being enrolled in a STEM program in collaboration with Destination Imagination, which will be reported on next quarter.

Learning and Experiencing with VR – National Park Experience

Participants explored a national park by using virtual reality (VR) headsets. These headsets provide a ‘real’ experience for the youth. The main objectives of the sessions were to:

• Explore through virtual field trips – Participants learned about and saw different animals that they had never seen before. For some of the youth this was the first time they experienced a national park. They encountered different species of animals, learned their behaviours and what they eat. Participants also absorbed the beautiful landscapes, hills, vegetation, oceans and water waves. Furthermore, the participants also went on a field trip with the United States army, on a mission.
• Bring science to life – Participants also experienced flight and roller coaster simulators. A roller coaster application was used to illustrate potential and kinetic energy, as well as the forces involved in a roller coaster. This activity also helped in building their motor skills as they had to balance during the activity.
• Help fight phobias – VR was used to demonstrate how someone who prevoiusly had a fear of heights, could experience liberation after being exposed to heights in the virtual setting – They even got to experience the joy of a roller coaster! By overcoming fear, participants gain more confidence and courage to face challenges in other areas of their lives too. The VR experience emphasised how life’s challenges, fears, and “phobias” can first seem like  limitations, however are really opportunities to grow and learn how to cope with fears.