TQM report,
Wife of the Vice President, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, flagged off HerSTEM initiative by FAME Foundation to train 40 girls and women with disabilities for six months in the first phase of the programme.
HerSTEM is an initiative of FAME Foundation will teach women and girls between ages 10-30 with disabilities STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) courses.The project which is in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland, Nigeria and the Ministry of Science and Technology, aimed at harnessing Women and Girls with disabilities STEM skills so as to make them compete with their counterparts in a society that is not favourable to women and girls with disabilities and to make them employable in a technology driven world.
The girls are going on a six months journey and I trust their lives will never be the same. This will not only have impact on their lives but on the environment they are coming from.
According to Mrs. Osinbajo, she said it was interesting to note that the project is aimed at equipping those that would ordinarily not access such opportunities made possible by FAME.
She said: “I want to say a few words to the students, to ask them not to take this opportunity for granted, to tell them that doors of opportunities have been opened onto them and they have to keep pushing on as well, to keep pressing on just like Aderonke did, from an idea to something that is a reality, a reality that will impact many girls and their families and their communities and perhaps our nation.
“It is an idea that can birth many more ideas perhaps one of you will find a cure for cancer, perhaps one of you will find the answer to many questions that plague families, nations and healed the world.“The doors have been opened unto you, technology is an incredible space indeed and makes life more easier for all of us and can continue to do. There’s still much more to be discovered.”
Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mohammed Abdullahi, represented by Mrs Valerie Ehimatie, declared his support for the project from the Ministry and its agency, Raw Materials Research and Development Council.
He said the ministry and its parastatals are behind the project because STEM courses are the foundational skills needed for the digital economy Nigeria is currently promoting.The Charge d’Affairs of Switzerland, Mr Lukas Schifferli, said the embassy was supporting FAME foundation through STEM initiatives to provide technology skills for 40 girls and women with exceptional skills. He said mathematics is not only a tool but a solution.
He said the embassy isproud to be associating
All of this because the world belongs to those who dare to go after what they want. And because life is really too short to be insignificant”, their motto throughout the Programme so that they will gallantly at the end.
