Position South African girls for Success in iSTEAM

Thope Foundation Update: July 2018 Recently wrapping up Term 2, we cannot believe that we are already half way through our inaugural year of school at Molo Mhlaba! We have grown exponentially, now with 30 girls enrolled, and we are so excited to continue developing and learning with them. Over the second term, the girls focused their learning on the solar system, storytelling, gardening, and Africa Day. They have had visits from Mala Bryan of Malaville Dolls (think African girl toy representation!), a book launch of Steven Hawking’s George’s Secret Key to the Universe in isiXhosa, and their first field trip to Grand West to see the Power Puff Girls Live. It has been such a joy seeing the girls light up at school as they learn new skills and begin teaching each other what they have learned in their school days. Our teachers have also continued to improve their teaching, attending Montessori workshops and participating in monthly teacher in-service trainings. This constant drive to be the best as teachers allows Molo Mhlaba to continue to provide our girls with quality teachers who create a positive, safe and supportive learning environment for them to thrive. We also received great community support, having local authors, reporters, and performers stop by to pay us a visit. We have also been featured on SABC News on Youth Day, the Afternoon Express Show and have an upcoming appearance on Motswako, so keep a look out for us on your television! On the Thope Foundation front, which provides STEM exposure to girls between grades 5 and 7 in an after school programme format, the programme has already added 310 additional hours of schooling to the girls classroom learning this year. This programme gives the girls additional exposure to English, maths and science, which has led to noticeable improvement in their overall school marks. Over their school holiday the Thope Foundation girls participated in a coding programme hosted by AIMS, where the girls put their computer and coding skills to the test building robots and circuits, while talking about all things science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We are so proud of how far we have come since January with Molo Mhlaba and continue to work hard to provide our girls in the Thope Foundation after school programme with the skills to be the next generation of female scientists and techies. Thank you for your generous support of girls STEM education in Khayelitsha and we look forward to updating you with more progress soon!