Hantie's Malawi Expedition for STEM Education
Donation protected
In May 2019 I will be joining a team of 20+ enthusiastic female engineers from around Australia, New Zealand and the UK to participate in the final phase of construction of a new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) classroom block at Rainbow Hope Secondary School in Malawi. Prior to the expedition our team will be driving the design process and I am excited to be using my geotechnical design, project management and construction management skills to contribute to such a valuable project! I am equally eager to collaborate with the local construction team on the ground in Malawi to learn about their local building materials and methods, share my knowledge about design and construction and work together to create an innovative and sustainable facility for the school. We are also in the process of design series of hands-on workshops that we will run with the students throughout the expedition to ignite their curiosity and foster an interest in STEM subjects.
Rainbow Hope Secondary School opened in 2017 and educates 124 girls and boys from the surrounding community. It is a private registered secondary school operated by Community Initiative for Self Reliance (CISER) , a local NGO based in Mangochi district in Malawi whose mission is “…to enhance self reliance among the residents of local communities as a means of contributing to national development.” The school was established to complement CISER's efforts under the School Sponsorship Program, through which it offers scholarly support to orphans and vulnerable children. We hope that this new classroom block will allow them to expand their students intake as well as provide much needed STEM educational resources to help provide valuable education and opportunities to these Malawian children.
The expedition is being run by the Educational, Experiential & Philanthropic travel company, Orbis Expeditions , whose missions statement is “To promote global citizenship and ensure the benefits of tourism reach local communities.” Since their establishment in 2017, Orbis has run many expeditions to Malawi focussing on a range of important development areas in Malawi including knowledge sharing to empower local businesswomen, workshopping with children of all ages and promoting sports tourism around the country. All have been hugely successful and you can read more about the amazing work that Orbis does here.
The total personal cost of the expedition is AUD$7,800. I will be funding my flights from Adelaide, insurance and required pre-travel vaccinations, which will cost AUD$3,000 from my personal savings. I am hoping that this GoFundMe effort will help me cover the AUD$3,600 expedition fee (meals, accommodations and transportation within Malawi). Our team is also endeavouring to raise £5,000 to cover the cost of building materials and STEM teaching equipment for the school. I will transferring 25% of all funds raised through my page to our team’s fundraising bucket, so all money donated to my page will be helping me fund the expedition costs as well as contributing towards the physical building and facilities in Malawi. This brings my total fundraising goal to AUD$4,500. Absolutely any contribution you could spare will be immensely appreciated and will make a big difference to a worthy cause!
If you are unable to make a monetary donation, there are many other ways in which you can contribute as well. Orbis have provided a list of items which will greatly benefit the school including specific school books, educational maps and posters, human body and solar system models etc and our team is organising a means of transport for all of the physical donations received. You can also donate your skills or time by helping me with my other fundraising avenues like bakesales and movie nights! Please get in touch with me by sending me a GoFundMe message if you would prefer to help out in this way and I will provide more details.
Finally, we have started sharing updates about the team’s activities and will continue to do so up to and throughout the expedition. Please follow our progress on twitter (@STEMBuildMalawi) instagram (STEMbuildMalawi) or blog (STEM Build Malawi). I can’t wait to show you what we achieve!
Thank you sincerely for your support!
Rainbow Hope Secondary School opened in 2017 and educates 124 girls and boys from the surrounding community. It is a private registered secondary school operated by Community Initiative for Self Reliance (CISER) , a local NGO based in Mangochi district in Malawi whose mission is “…to enhance self reliance among the residents of local communities as a means of contributing to national development.” The school was established to complement CISER's efforts under the School Sponsorship Program, through which it offers scholarly support to orphans and vulnerable children. We hope that this new classroom block will allow them to expand their students intake as well as provide much needed STEM educational resources to help provide valuable education and opportunities to these Malawian children.
The expedition is being run by the Educational, Experiential & Philanthropic travel company, Orbis Expeditions , whose missions statement is “To promote global citizenship and ensure the benefits of tourism reach local communities.” Since their establishment in 2017, Orbis has run many expeditions to Malawi focussing on a range of important development areas in Malawi including knowledge sharing to empower local businesswomen, workshopping with children of all ages and promoting sports tourism around the country. All have been hugely successful and you can read more about the amazing work that Orbis does here.
The total personal cost of the expedition is AUD$7,800. I will be funding my flights from Adelaide, insurance and required pre-travel vaccinations, which will cost AUD$3,000 from my personal savings. I am hoping that this GoFundMe effort will help me cover the AUD$3,600 expedition fee (meals, accommodations and transportation within Malawi). Our team is also endeavouring to raise £5,000 to cover the cost of building materials and STEM teaching equipment for the school. I will transferring 25% of all funds raised through my page to our team’s fundraising bucket, so all money donated to my page will be helping me fund the expedition costs as well as contributing towards the physical building and facilities in Malawi. This brings my total fundraising goal to AUD$4,500. Absolutely any contribution you could spare will be immensely appreciated and will make a big difference to a worthy cause!
If you are unable to make a monetary donation, there are many other ways in which you can contribute as well. Orbis have provided a list of items which will greatly benefit the school including specific school books, educational maps and posters, human body and solar system models etc and our team is organising a means of transport for all of the physical donations received. You can also donate your skills or time by helping me with my other fundraising avenues like bakesales and movie nights! Please get in touch with me by sending me a GoFundMe message if you would prefer to help out in this way and I will provide more details.
Finally, we have started sharing updates about the team’s activities and will continue to do so up to and throughout the expedition. Please follow our progress on twitter (@STEMBuildMalawi) instagram (STEMbuildMalawi) or blog (STEM Build Malawi). I can’t wait to show you what we achieve!
Thank you sincerely for your support!
Organizer
Hantie Barrie
Organizer
Adelaide, SA