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Kenya to Host Space and Science Academy For Girls
By Ajong Mbapndah L
Brighter days lie ahead for brilliant young Africans with the establishment of a Space and Science Academy for girls in Kenya. Expected to take off in 2012, the Academy is the initiative of the Brightest Stars Foundation an American based Non Governmental Organization. Considering that the potential of every child is limitless, the Foundation believes that with access to opportunity and direction they can reach the stars and in doing so manifest their destiny and divine purpose. Education is the key to this brighter future and the Foundation considers education with emphasis on engineering and technology as vital to sustainable development and economic prosperity.
Camille Alleyne the Founder and President of The Brightest Stars Foundationcurrently serves as the Crew Module Systems Engineering, Integration and Test Technical Manager at the NASA - Johnson Space Center. In that capacity she leads the integration and testing of all the subsystems in the crew capsule for the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) - the next generation of human space vehicle that will have the capability to return astronauts to the moon by the year 2018. Ms. Alleyne has spent the last 12 years leading and managing highly technical projects and has been dedicated to the advancement of aerospace and space technology. She served as the Systems Engineering and Integration Lead for Requirements in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASAHeadquarters. Before working for NASA, Ms. Alleyne served as an Aerospace Systems Engineer at both the Missile Defense Agency and the Department of the Navy. There she led analysis and integration of several ballistic missile projects. Ms. Alleyne started her career at the NASA Kennedy Space Center as a Flight Systems Test Engineer where she conducted integration and testing of the Space Shuttle payloads environmental control systems.Ms Alleyne says the vision of the Foundation is to set up a network of Institutions in a number of African countries citing Ghana, Zambia and Uganda of as potential areas of interest. Asked if the creation of the Institution coming on the heels of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa was a manifestation of interest by African Americans to weigh more on development challenges in the continent, Ms Alleyne who considers Ms Winfrey a role model and a source of inspiration said she considers herself more of a global citizen."More efforts like hers and ours are needed and called for since the plight of young African women seeking gender equality and an opportunity to manifest their destinies in all areas of life, continues" She affirmed. Interviewed for PAV by Ajong Mbapndah L, Ms Alleyne sheds more light on the choice of Kenya to host the Institution, the curriculum, criteria for selection,and useful words of wisdom to young African girls with ambitions for the kind of challenging career she is engaged in.
PAV: Can you introduce the Brightest Stars Foundation to us and what motivated the creation of a Foundation with such a peculiar name?
Camille Alleyne: The Brightest Stars Foundation is a US charitable (non-governmental) organization with 501(3)(c) tax-exemption status that was founded in 2007. Our mission is to educate, empower and inspire young women especially in underdeveloped communities around the world to be future leaders, through the study of science, math and technology. Our vision is to serve as the funding vehicle for the establishment, operation and sustainment of a global network of learning institutions that will educate girls in scientific and technological fields. Ultimately, the organization has a commitment to promoting global transformation and sustainable development by empowering youth to recognize and harness their greatness through education.
We believe our world is in a time of unprecedented change driven largely by science and technology. The demand for science literacy is increasing at a rapid pace. Developing countries will not have the ability to get a hold of the first rung of the economic prosperity ladder unless value and understanding is placed on science, technology, engineering and innovation. These highly technical fields play a critical role in enabling and maintaining thriving economies. Historically, career paths in science and technology are rarely pursued by women and more specifically, women of color not just in the United States but all over the world. As a result, we wanted to create opportunities through education that would provide young women especially in developing countries with a promise of a brighter future for themselves, their communities and our world - hence the name “Brightest Stars”.
PAV: The Foundation has plans for The Space and Science Academy for Girls - Kenya what is the purpose of the Institution and when will it go operational?
Camille Alleyne:The Space and Science Academy for Girls aims at providing a Center of Excellence in Science Education for the girl-child. It is a college-preparatory high school that aspires to provide a learning environment for future women leaders in scientific and technological fields. We are committed to educating and empowering the next generation of future scientists, thinkers, innovators and leaders - a generation of young women who will have the chance and ability to provide significant contribution to solving the global challenges that our world faces. The Academy is currently planned to be operational at the end of year 2012.
PAV: How did you settle on the choice of Kenya and may we know the criteria that will be used in the selection of students?
Camille Alleyne:Our ultimate desire is to establish a network of schools across the globe for bright and science oriented but disadvantaged girls. We had to start somewhere, and Kenya came as an easy choice for our first center. The country is not only the East and Central Africa region economic and technological powerhouse, but it also headquarters many regional and international scientific centers, which we hope to partner with in our training and research programs. Additionally, the Foundation has received a warm reception by both the public and private communities in Kenya. That reception has given us that momentum and boost of energy in our efforts towards the establishment of the Academy.
While we acknowledge that there may be many deserving girls in Kenya, and indeed in the region, we hope that this center shall provide a model from which other centers may be created, to ultimately provide an opportunity for all girls in the region.
We shall have a thorough but fair selection and admission process, but among other criteria:-
-Girls’ age 14-18 years old selected from all over the country who have demonstrated academic excellence throughout their primary school education.
-Girls who have an interest in and a proclivity for math and science. The girls may be asked to also demonstrate a talent in music and art because there is a consilience between math/science and music.
-Girls from varied socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds who are underprivileged, and ordinarily would not have an opportunity of receiving a secondary school education.
We are initially planning to enroll ~100 girls, and gradually attain a full capacity of 300.
PAV: What kind of curriculum will the Institution have and is the Kenyan government involved in the project?
Camille Alleyne: The academy plans to work closely with the Ministry of Education in the development and implementation of the school’s curriculum. However, our intent is to offer a uniquely challenging education for students in the areas of science (natural, space and earth), math, technology, art, music and the humanities – consider these the vertical thrusts. It is not just about the subjects that are offered that makes this a unique learning environment; it is the deliberation in creating a well-designed education system. The curriculum will be designed to be a problem-centered, concept-based, curiosity-driven and integrative learning system. The instruction will be inquiry-based, personalized, experiential and technologically generative. Threaded throughout will be the horizontal thrusts of entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership. The result is an integrated and coherent curriculum that provides the learners with an understanding of and appreciation for the natural world around them and ability to think critically and transfer the knowledge of science into informed decision-making and problem-solving.
We have established and engaged in some very productive discussions on a high level with officials of the Kenyan government, specifically in the Ministry of Education. They have shown interest in having a joint public-private partnership with the Foundation in the operation and sustainment of the Academy.
PAV: Is Kenya the only African Country you intend to set up such a project in or are there other African countries that the Foundation has operations in?
Camille Alleyne:Kenya will be the first country in Africa. Indeed, our vision is to establish a global network of these institutions specifically in developing countries. Presently, we have spoken to officials in Ghana, Uganda, and Zambia, about establishing Science Academies in those countries and they have shown great interest in partnering with our Foundation.
PAV: Any reason why focus is only on girls? What about young boys who with the kind of vision that your Foundation has could be potential leaders of tomorrow in diverse fields?
Camille Alleyne:We know that cultural and societal norms exist especially in developing countries, which maintain the discouragement of the girl child to pursue highly scientific or technical fields. We also know as long as secondary school education is not free to all students, that in poverty-stricken families, boys over girls will be chosen to go to school. But there is a well-known African proverb that says “if you educate a boy, you educate an individual; if you educate a girl, you educate a family (nation)”. Educating girls can and will break the cycle of abject poverty – this is the reason why we focus only on girls.
PAV: Liberia today is one of the few countries in the world with a democratically elected female President. There are African women now who serve in high government positions. Based on your knowledge of the continent, are you satisfied with the situation of women and their contribution to the development process?
Camille Alleyne:President Sirleaf-Johnson of Liberia is one of the few women country leaders of our time and a source of inspiration to many girls around the globe. However, women have still a long way to go in attaining high leadership positions. Therefore I am not satisfied with the situation of women and their contribution to the development process. Women make up roughly 50 % of the world population, but are significantly under-represented in leadership and decision-making processes in virtually every sector of life. I feel they are deprived of a substantial input to the development of societies. The ability for women to equally participate in decision-making is not only a necessity for deep democracy, justice and peace but an assurance that women’s needs and interests are considered.
PAV : The famous talk show host Oprah Winfrey has a reputable educational Institution in South Africa; here you are with Brightest Stars working on the creation of something similar in Kenya, does being an African American make you have a special obligation to weigh more on the challenges facing the continent?
Camille Alleyne:Firstly, the efforts of Ms. Winfrey are truly extraordinary and she serves as a role model and inspiration to me. It is my opinion that more efforts like hers and ours are needed and called for since the plight of young African women seeking gender equality and an opportunity to manifest their destinies in all areas of life, continues.
Furthermore, I wouldn’t say that as an African-American, I have a special obligation to weigh more of the challenges facing the continent. I consider myself a global citizen who has a deep commitment to making a difference in the lives of people all over the world. My life is guided by the commitment that every woman/girl knows that she has a voice; that she will find that voice and will use it for the betterment of humanity; that she will find the courage and inner strength to manifest her destiny. Since a lot of the global challenges (disease pandemics, extreme poverty, climate change, civil strife etc) we face today are disproportionately impacting the African continent, my organization chose to focus its efforts on making a contribution and hopefully a difference there first.
PAV: You work in the highly complex world of space activities, what message do you have for young African girls who may not only look at you as a model but express the curiosity to take on a challenging career like yours in the future?
Camille Alleyne:My message to young African girls is dream your biggest dreams and know that there is no limit to what you can achieve if you believe in yourself. With determination, perseverance, courage and drive you will succeed in the most challenging careers from rocket science to neurosurgery and everything in between. Finally, I would like to share with you these words from Marianne Williamson in her book A Return to Love, she says: “it is our light not our darkness that most frightens us…we ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? …actually, who are you not to be, you are a child of God and your playing small does not serve the world…there is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that others won’t feel insecure around you…we are all meant to shine like children do…we were born to make MANIFEST the glory of God that is within us…it is not just in some of us, it is in everyone of us and as we let our own light shine, we subconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
*More on the Foundation at www.brighteststarsfoundation.org
