Kilimanjaro 4 The Kids
SANDTON – Nova Pioneer Education Group is excited to announce that 13 teachers and staff members are heading up Mount Kilimanjaro in October to raise R1.25 million for science, technology, engineering and mathematics initiatives for their students
Nova Pioneer Education group is sending 13 teachers and staff to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in October to raise R1.25 million to launch Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Stem) initiatives for their students.
Nova Pioneer is an independent network of schools offering education from pre-primary to secondary school level. The network currently consists of six schools in South Africa and Kenya, with the vision to grow and reach many more in the future. They will launch a new school in Paulshof, Sandton, in January next year.
Sandton Chronicle spoke to Bryanston resident and Nova Pioneer chief executive officer Chinezi Chijioke, who will take on the Kilimanjaro 4 The Kids six-day challenge up the Marangu route of Africa’s highest mountain.
“Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro symbolises the heights to which Nova Pioneer is committed to supporting our students to ascend. I also love the messaging it sends to our students around high expectations, which is one of Nova Pioneer’s six cultural principals,” said Chijioke.
The stem vision is to launch innovative spaces where students and teachers can gather to invent, collaborate and learn, providing hands-on learning experiences and building Stem-related skills to empower students. Funds raised through the challenge will provide investment in the curriculum, teacher training and student opportunities.
Taking on Kilimanjaro for Sandton SPCA
Chijioke said the challenge is all about the students, both symbolically in the message of embracing challenges and tangibly in the Stem opportunities that will emerge thereafter. “Ultimately this is about Nova Pioneer’s mission to develop the generation of innovators and leaders who will shape the African century ahead,” said Chijioke.
To raise funds, Nova Pioneer is reaching out to corporate partners who believe in the importance of Stem education, launching grassroots funding to engage with the community and working with organisations that can contribute to minimising costs of the trip itself.
Hiking is something completely new to Chijioke, but this doesn’t stop him from conquering the challenge and encouraging his students to do the same. “We believe that it is through setting and pursuing challenging goals that we discover our capability and see beyond our previously perceived limits. We say to our students that striving with passion and persistence for something that may seem out of reach at first is how you discover the real possibility within yourself. So we felt we ought to walk the talk!”
Details: To contribute to Kilimanjaro for The Kids, visit www.tinyurl.com/novapioneer-k4tk
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