Population Solutions for Health (PSH), has encouraged young adolescent girls to take up Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects to secure a better future for themselves.
By Kudakwashe Pembere
At a time when there is diminished interest in these subjects, PSH engaged TelOne Centre for Learning for a Career Fair for these girls in Form 4 to Form 6 to expand their horizon towards STEM opportunities.
With support from the Embassy of Sweden in Harare, PSH and its Community Champions mobilised students from Mabvuku, Tafara, Chitungwiza, and Epworth to attend this Career Fair. The Swedish Embassy has been funding a lot of projects meant to preserve the dignity females including the fight against gender based violence, menstrual health as well as sexual reproductive health.
In an interview, PSH Adolescent Girls Young Women (AGYW) brand specialist Tinovonga Mawoyo said this Career Fair was meant to widen career opportunities for young girls like Engineering and Mathematics.
Today we are celebrating women’s month as PSH. Through funding from the Swedish Embassy we have brand ambassadors who work with young girls and adolescent girls in the community. Today we had young girls from Chitungwiza, Epworth, Mabvuku and Mazowe attending a Career Fair.
“Being women’s month themed Breaking The Bias, we felt it would be good to expose the girls to careers that are known to be male dominated and you don’t find a lot of ladies. We brought them here so that they see that are a lot of opportunities that are out there. The good thing about TCFL is that their courses are affordable and globally recognised. The time frame of long and short courses is manageable for learners.
“So this was a great opportunity for the girls to learn about opportunities that lie out there. Observing what transpired today, you could tell they are not privy to disciplines such as Cyber security and digital marketing which have proved pivotal in this current COVID-19 era. So today it was an eye-opener for them to take a step in the right direction. Even though they may have interests in nursing, and becoming a doctor learning stuff to do,” she said.
A TCFL lecturer Engineer Charity Chigwada challenged the young girls to develop and hone their interests in STEM.
“The coming in and growing interest of telemedicine in Zimbabwe it is important to learn about cyber-security to ensure that health systems are protected. With robust security, patient records are also secure which is why it is important to have many girls taking up STEM subjects,” she said.
Belinda a Form 4 pupil from Tafara High was elated to be part of the Career Fair as she learnt a lot. She said she was interested in Digital forensics and cyber security.
