By Gift Samuel, The Sight News
In a bid to create a crucial foundation for lifelong learning and success through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), the Ogbona Diaspora in the Americas (ODIA) in collaboration with Learning Institute for Excellence (LIFE), SparkLearn, and Cyber Training Group International (CTGI) have launched secondary school STEM Clubs across Africa.
The clubs which are for students of primary school age from grade three (3) to secondary school, launched virtually on October 13, 2025, with a goal to train innovators to solve practical problems in their communities and a target to ensure access to clean water, electricity, healthcare and quality education for every child in Africa by 2032.
Speaking at the event, the Ogbona Diaspora President, Prof. Charles E. Orbih, stated that the launch is a dream come true, especially with the number of young people participating in STEM, which is currently an aspect that drives the world. He added that the fact it is coming to his community of birth–Ogbona in Edo State, makes it all the more a blessing.
“We wanted to have an opportunity to communicate to our children in Ogbona secondary school, which is probably one of the top 10 schools in Edo State”, he remarked. “Today, STEM Clubs Across Africa is using Ogbona secondary school as a launchpad to bring Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to children as a baseline for them getting involved in Artificial Intelligence”.
In his remarks, Amos Tarfa, Founder, Learning Institute for Excellence (LIFE) Texas, USA, while noting that technology is a great tool to connect people, pointed out that the students have the potential to become the next innovators that can change the world.
Expressing concerns that there might be self-doubts on the part of the students, he stated that humans are capable of doing so much with the right tools in mathematics and science. “Mathematics and Science need to be built on top of solid character and that is why we talk about character at SparkLearn and LIFE. The history of science and mathematics is very important and so, when we say we want to launch STEM Clubs across Africa, we want to raise the next generation of Maxwells, Faradays, Newtons and top thinkers”.
Continuing, he said, “We want to have high quality Mathematicians and Scientists coming out of Kenya, Angola, Nigeria and all across the continent. We don’t just want them to know things anymore, we want them to do things with what they know. It is not enough to know things, you have to do something about it.
Tarfa announced that the first set of things that they want to fix in Africa include: Access to Clean water; Healthcare; Electricity and Safety Systems.
Furthermore, he stated that there is a need for every child in Africa to have clean drinking water and he will not rest until they do. “For our Stem clubs to come together and solve practical problems, it means that students in Ogbona Secondary school will be able to think about an idea, build and deploy a product and we at Sparklearn and LIFE will help to put that product on the global stage as best as we can to ensure it gets to every home across Africa and the world”.
While emphasizing the need for Africa to collaborate with the rest of the world in order to grow and improve the continent, he urged the students to have confidence in themselves and to use the gifts they have been blessed with to change the world.
Earlier in her opening remarks, the Chief Operating Officer of LIFE, Mrs Kauna Kigun said the launch is an avenue for the students to connect globally and begin to think outside the box.
“LIFE and SparkLearn are now partnering with Ogbona to ensure that we are thinking outside the box and we are going to do beyond what is just in our community and you can meet people from all over the world”, she said. “The idea is that we are trying to see how we can make things better. Every day we hear the saying that we want to make Nigeria better, here is your opportunity. Gap Student and Ogbona students, this is your chance; you have just joined a fast metro train and are going at high speed trying to ensure that you are educated and connected with people that will make what you are studying a reality”.
She stressed that everything the students are learning are connected to life and their spirituality, adding that at the end of the day, “the idea is to implement what you are learning in your life”.
In a brief closing remarks, Amb. Mrs Catherine Utsalo, Head of the Ogbona Diaspora in the Americas STEM Club Committee urged the students to focus on the future, explaining that the responsibility of the organisations is to support each other, so as to assist the children in reaching their goals.
“They say it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to raise the STEM Club in Ogbona; it takes a village to raise the STEM Club in Africa”, she said. “Although it might start with just a few people, before you know it, millions of people will be involved. It just takes one step and we are going to do this together”.
Student’s Presentations
Presentations were made by three students in the Gap Year Program, which is a program created to maximize the time spent at home by students who have graduated secondary school and are waiting to get into higher institutions. The three students: Kabikrat Yak, Radiance Williams and Damilola Ige who made presentations with a focus on entrepreneurship, highlighted challenges present in the society and proffered solutions through mobile applications which, if implemented, could change the face of business, education and learning in general.
The STEM Clubs Across Africa Initiative launch was moderated by Scott Ojigho, Tutor at LIFE, and brought together participants from the United States of America, Canada, Nigeria, Angola, Cameroon and other countries.