The Molo Mhlaba program, one of the OAD funded projects in 2019, is calling for volunteers for its astronomy program which will be carried out at schools in Khayelitsha in Cape Town, South Africa.
About the project:
Molo Mhlaba (MM) offers a radical new approach to schooling in South Africa. With local, low-fee, independent schools in underserved communities, MM provides South Africa’s most vulnerable group – black girls – with access to quality STEM education and career orientation, going beyond standard educational targets to strive for excellence and innovation. A key component to its mission is exposure to astronomy, which easily captures the imagination of children, making it the ideal subject through which to encourage them to aspire to and pursue STEM careers.
The project will:
1. Develop 20 astronomy-focused classes aimed at primary school students;
2. Recruit, train, and employ Khayelitsha-based, female high-school graduates to run these classes both at Molo Mhlaba and in other primary schools in Khayelitsha. The program will offer them: i) astronomical training, by teaching them the astronomical concepts behind these classes; ii) Income and work experience (organisational skills, public speaking skills, etc); iii) encouragement and support in pursuing astronomy in higher education and as a career. This includes encouraging them and helping them to apply to SKA bursaries.
3. Create a network of primary schools in Khayelitsha which can commit (at no costs) to making astronomical education accessible to their students, by hosting our outreach events and/or by incorporating, with our help and training, the astronomy classes in their existing curriculum.
Volunteers can contribute to this project in many ways, here are a few examples:
Tasks that can be done by a remote volunteer
– contributor to the astronomy syllabus
– translator of the material from English to Xhosa or Sotho
– fundraiser or lobbyist for official endorsements
– website (WordPress-based)/graphic designer and/or social media coordinator
Tasks that can be done by a volunteer in Cape Town, preferably women
– mentor and/or training-workshop instructor for the bursary program
– facilitator during the astronomy classes at Molo Mhlaba
Tasks that can be done by a volunteer in Cape Town
– logistics coordinator
– photographer during the events
– sharing our events and activities through your social media channels
– sharing your experiences/ideas with us and suggesting ways in which the project can be improved or expanded
For more information contact: Margherita Molaro, ma***************@gm***.com http://www.astro4dev.org/blog/category/molo-mhlaba/ and https://molomhlaba.org/
