A Khayelitsha teen is dreaming of building a law enforcement robot, much like the American movie character RoboCop to alleviate crime in her community.
“My KhayelishaCop will remove the elements of crime and drug abuse because those substances destroy our future,” said Likhona Tonisi, 17, who is part of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Stem) programme for underprivileged women.
She is also part of the team of high school pupils involved in the building of Africa’s first private satellite, to be launched in 2016.
The Stem programme, and the ambitious satellite project, is run by the Meta Economic Development Organisation (Medo), and involves young women from various backgrounds taking part in “SpacePrep” and “SpaceTrek” workshops that introduce them to electronics and the basics of practical science.
The girls yesterday showed off their soldering iron skills as they worked on “Jiggy bots” or electronic devices that can light up a bulb, move and vibrate.
Placing the final touches on her Jiggy bot at yesterday’s launch of the satellite project, Likhona said she was honoured to be part of a programme that she was sure would unlock doors.
“I want to go back to my township and make a change like Nelson Mandela did when he was released from prison after 27 years,” she said.
Citing Struggle musical Sarafina as her favourite movie, Likhona said the sacrifices made by the youth on June 16, 1976, paved the way for young women like her to make their dreams a reality.
Joint chief executive officer and co-founder of the Stem programme, Judi Sandrock, said it was particularly important for women to find an interest in a mainly male-dominated industry.
“The truth is that half of the women in this room won’t have formal jobs after they matriculate. What we are doing now is starting a lot earlier because the challenges that we had with the businesses that we assisted is that the employees… don’t have the correct technical skills.”
Her colleague, Bjarke Gotfredsen, said the purpose of the Stem programme was to encourage Grade 10, 11 and 12 pupils to choose mathematics and science as subjects in high school.
“We want young women to get interested in Stem. We have a huge problem with mathematics in South Africa and we need to get into mathematics and science,” he said.
He added that a lack of teachers in those fields contributed to the declining numbers of pupils choosing mathematics and science as subjects.
“We also want to encourage entrepreneurship,” said Gotfredsen.