Elimisha Msichana Elimisha Jamii na Astronomia (Swahili for “educate a girl, educate the entire community with Astronomy”) is a project founded by Faculty of Science and Engineering PhD student Ann Njeri. The project is addressing the issue of gender disparity and inequality in education amongst girls in rural Kenya and Uganda through outreach, mentorship, scholarships and targeted STEM workshop programmes which are guided by long-term student tracking and monitoring. Elimisha Msichana Elimisha Jamii recognizes that the whole community and the wider society benefit when a girl is educated and is therefore working towards ensuring a 100% transition between primary and secondary education for schoolgirls in rural regions of Kenya and Uganda. 

In a span of about four years, the project has reached over 7,000 schoolgirls and their parents across 30 schools (both primary and secondary). The team have sponsored five girls from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who would have otherwise failed to enrol for secondary education without their intervention. The project has provided five secondary schools with critical but missing laboratory equipment for the physics laboratory such as multimeters, rulers, lab-stands, weighing scales and lenses. Not only this, but it has improved STEM grades amongst schoolgirls with more girls selecting physics subject in these schools. The project has also donated 17 computers to three schools and now the schools are offering computer studies as part of the curriculum (previously not offered in these schools due to lack of computers). Elimisha Msichana Elimisha Jamii has helped cap school absenteeism amongst schoolgirls and the school heads are reporting an increase in the number of girls enrolling for secondary education in these regions.  

In recognition of this great work, Ann won a Making a Difference Award in May this year. See Ann’s short interview for the Manchester Evening News at the Awards:  

We asked Ann a few questions about her project and what winning this Award means to her: 

What inspired you to start this project? 

Basic education still remains elusive to most girls back home due to a myriad of socio-economic issues such as early marriages, teenage pregnancies and poverty. Elimisha Msichana Elimisha Jamii is mobilising communities and coming up with positive ways of tackling these issues to ensure that their girls stay in school and complete basic education. Addressing gender disparity and equality in education is critically important to the social and economic growth within these regions. 

Tell us about how it felt to win a Making a Difference Award 

I felt honoured, and humbled at the same time for this recognition. It was an even greater honour to be placed in such a category with all the other nominees, who are doing outstanding work and equally contributing towards Equality Diversity and Inclusion in various ways. The Award has helped to highlight our work to an even broader and bigger audience, opening up new avenues for possible collaboration, support and coverage scope. The recognition has also boosted our credibility amongst funding agencies and things are looking up in terms of long-term plans and sustainability of the project!

Is there any one you’d like to thank?  

This accomplishment is not something that I have achieved by myself and I would like to acknowledge the entire Elimisha Msichana Elimisha Jamii team back home: the ~20 mentors who volunteer their precious time to mentor and track hundreds of schoolgirls; 12 STEM teachers, 15 Astro-STEM tutors and our main funding agency, the IAU-office of Astronomy for Development. I would also like to thank my very supportive team here in Manchester. 

Ann plans to continue her efforts to ensure that every child in rural Kenya and Uganda, particularly girls, get an opportunity to have a bright future through education. She believes it is through education that a girl is first exposed to leadership, given a voice and given a chance to develop crucial life-long skills that will help her in her future career and beyond. 

Watch this short video to find out more about the project.