Last evening the Government of Guyana notified not-for-profit organisation STEMGuyana via a phone to vacate the Sport Hall compound as soon as possible. It appears that renovations to the building have begun and somehow notice to the organization was overlooked.
The organisation’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ms., Karen Abrams, announced the news on her social media page, under the heading ‘EMERGENCY! HELP! Looking for new location’ making known the organisation has “no place to go.”
STEMGuyana (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) was a programme launched in Guyana about seven years ago. The brainchild of Abrams, family and others, wanted to impart knowledge and training to Guyanas’ children, to prepare them to successfully compete in the 21st century economy and an emerging oil and gas economy that initially would attract foreign skills.
Around 2016 with a dream and the support of the Diaspora and the former first lady Sandra Granger, Abrams, confident in her ability to help shape a brighter future, left the comforts of the United States and returned to Guyana, pioneering the integration of disciplines, often seen as challenging, and made them attractive to the children.
STEMGuyana has taken in children from the poorest to the richest neighbourhoods and of other diverse backgrounds. In the short years the organisation in:-
2017- collaborated with the Ministry of Education to launch a Maths App for the National Grade Six Assessment.
2018- participated in the Global Robotics Competition in Washington DC and placed 10th.
2019- participated in the International STEM Competition. Guyana walked away with the Albert Einstein Gold Medal of Excellence and placed 39th out of the 190 participating countries.
2020- In the middle of the pandemic launched a virtual technology academy and the Learning pods program.
2021- Expanded the Learning pods program to 20 learning pods in 8 regions of Guyana.
2022 – Expanded the learning pods program to 40 learning pods and launched plan to reopen 100 STEM clubs across Guyana.
2022- Team Guyana Robotics was identified to participate in the First Global Challenge in Switzerland (October 13-16) but was unable to attend due to unusual and questionable visa issues.
STEMGuyana has also prepared under 15 youth robotics national teams for participation in local and IYRC international competitions, always fielding top performances.
STEMGuyana has produced a STEM Television talk show “Robin The Robot” to ensure continuity of education during the pandemic.
Ms. Abrams also produced the podcast “Learning Pods” which is screened in nine of the country’s ten administrative regions.
In its seven years of operation STEMGuyana has trained more than 300 leaders across Guyana via its more than 70 STEM Clubs
Ms. Abrams in 2021 piloted a role for the parents to support their children in STEM by launching the ‘Parent Academy.’ The academy targets parents, who have children (Grade 1 to 10), to empower them to learn about STEM and be able to supervise and teach their children.
STEMGuyana has become not only an institution or staple in Guyana, the organisation is among one of the few institutions Guyanese from diverse backgrounds would root for, cheer the children on, and bask in their achievements. The widespread camaraderie gives rise to the African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child.”
Abrams told this publication in spite of the present challenge she will remain positive, upbeat, and is not quitting on the children of Guyana. According to her, “I am who I am today because as a child society and my elders did not give up on me .”
Her immediate concern however is where can she secure the organisation’s tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment and finding a place where the students can continue to work on their innovations. But according to Abrams ” STEMGuyana is going to get through this and I remain appreciative of the outpourings of support for the children and the programme.”
