Akeelah Foundation aims to steer disadvantaged girls towards brighter future
CAPE TOWN, May 11 (ANA) – A chemical science researcher from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) is determined to make a positive difference in the lives of disadvantaged girls between the ages of 12 and 18.
Dr Natasha Ross founded Cape Town based non-profit organisation the Akeelah Foundation to help educationally challenged, physically handicapped and abused girls gain self-esteem while developing their mental, physical, cognitive and social skills in stimulating and creative ways, according to a statement issued by UWC late on Monday.
Ross is targeting this demographic against the backdrop of data from the department of basic education which shows that nearly 50 percent of pupils in South Africa do not complete Grade 12 as a result of severe household poverty, physical or mental abuse.
The Akeelah Foundation plans to conduct local outreach programmes and educational activities as well as counselling with the aim of giving these young girls a brighter future by passing their final high school exams, enrolling at university and emerging as highly employable graduates.
“When a woman is educated, she becomes empowered to change not only her own life, but also the lives of those around her: her children, her family, her friends and her community,” Ross said.
The vision of the foundation is to provoke young women in impoverished communities to dream big and equip them with the skills and resources needed to pursue those dreams, she added.
Ross, who hails from Hawston, a small town in the Overberg district, is the youngest of five children and was raised in a single-parent household.
“Coming from an impoverished small fishing village myself, I understand the dire need for mentorship and financial support at school level,” she said.
“I wish to see more girls from my community rise above their circumstances – and help others do the same.”
The foundation’s other founders include Professor Fanelwa Ajayi, an associate professor of physical chemistry at UWC; Portia Kleinschmidt, a career guidance counselor at Hawston Secondary School; UWC law graduate and practitioner Elizabeth Jakobs and Elizabeth West, an international missionary, mentor and coach.
Ajayi is a research leader in the field of drug metabolism nanobiosensors for antiretroviral and tuberculosis treatment drugs, as well as being the founder of AmaQawe NgeMfundo, a non-profit organisation which aims to change the negative stereotypes around the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in township schools.
She said lecturing at UWC had shown her that students from poor communities, especially those from townships and rural-based schools, struggled financially and sometimes quit their studies due to a lack of proper foundation and exposure in the sciences.
Ajayi also noted that globally, women were the minority in STEM related careers, adding that increasing their participation in these fields would allow women to shape society in a range of spheres.
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa
