Lavanya's Volunteering Story with STEM Adventures at SEGA

This summer, I visited SEGA and was part of the STEM Adventures at SEGA program. This was my first time visiting the school, and I can confidently say that this week was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. 

Each morning, our group of volunteers woke up bright and early to start our day of teaching. We routinely walked over to the Big Banda to start our day with the Form I students. Each day was themed differently: astronomy, chemistry, photosynthesis, math, etc. My personal favorites were the astronomy and math days. For the astronomy day, we were lucky enough to have Dr. Jiwaji, a professor at the University of Dar Es Salaam, travel to Morogoro to teach the girls about telescopes, Stellarium, and other space-related things. It was so amazing to see how curious the girls were about the way the moons and planets move around the sun– we even made a human solar system together to explain how the moon revolves around the Earth while the earth revolves around the sun. 

On the math day, Caroline Weiss, another volunteer, was teaching the girls about volume using cardboard boxes with different dimensions that we made the night before. Although the boxes looked different, the volume of water that fit them was all the same. We got to watch all the girls run up to the front of the classroom, absolutely mesmerized by how that same amount of water fit in all five different boxes. We then had a quick competition to see which group could fit the most cookies into their box to teach them about the area. Safe to say, eating the cookies at the end was a highlight! 

One of my favorite moments outside of the classroom was going to evening church with the girls after dinner. I fully intended to only stay 15 or 20 minutes, but as the dancing began, I didn’t want to leave. I ended up leaving 2 hours later at the very end. Church at SEGA was not what I expected at all. Laughing, dancing, and singing filled the room. One of the best parts was finally getting to hear ‘I Know Who I Am’, one of the student’s favorite songs that she had told me about earlier that week (it’s a great song). Before I left, I had the students write down some of those church songs so I could listen to them at home. The dance moves were definitely complicated, but the girls stood by and taught me the steps even as I tripped over myself multiple times. This was definitely my favorite memory from the trip (I 100% recommend it). 

I know I can speak for all the volunteers when I say we appreciated the girls pouring so much passion into the week we shared. They asked curious questions and truly wanted to learn. They aspire and dream big. SEGA is a special place filled with warmth, love, and hope among these young girls. I really can’t wait to see how they change the world. I’ll see you next summer, SEGA! I miss you already.