Elimisha Msichana Elimisha Jamii na Astronomia (EMEJA), an IAU OAD funded project in Kenya and Uganda, has received backing from the SKA Observatory.

The project aims to address the issue of high school dropout rates among girls in rural Kenya and Uganda via astronomy outreach, mentorship and  targeted STEM workshops and scholarships opportunities, guided and supported by long-term student tracking & monitoring to ensure that schoolgirls in these regions complete secondary education.

Funded for three years from 2023-2025 through the IAU OAD annual call for proposals, the project reached more than 40,000 girls and hundreds of teachers across 31 schools in Kenya and Uganda. The project was also previously funded for a pilot implementation in 2021.

In a recent announcement, the SKAO revealed that EMEJA will receive an annual bursary of €15,000 over the next three years from 2026. The new financial support enables the project to scale up and expand to other rural areas and more schools across East Africa, with the aim of reaching more than 100,000 girls. It also aims to establish regional STEM hubs for astronomy education and digital literacy.

Kevin Govender, Director of the IAU OAD, said: “EMEJA is one of our most impactful and successful projects in the last 15 years. It is an exemplary case of applying astronomy to tackle a development challenge, while rooted in the community it serves. We are very pleased with the outcomes of EMEJA, and grateful to the SKAO for continuing to support the project. The IAU OAD was set up to facilitate the application of astronomy to create a better world, and we invite our colleagues and partners in astronomy and beyond to join us in the mission.”

SKAO announcement: https://www.skao.int/en/impact/725/astronomy-outreach-project-keeping-girls-schools