The Tumaini Center is a locally-operated non-profit that works to use novel approaches to provide education to the growing street youth population in Eldoret, Kenya. Engineering education is seen as a key vehicle for individual and societal economic growth; providing engineering skills to the increasing numbers of out-of-school street youth is a "roadblock" challenge in development.
The DeBoer lab is partnering with the Tumaini Center to develop a new educational model for the teachers and youth at the Tumaini Center. We plan to use a modular curriculum with a focus on real-world applications in a flipped structure delivered through both tablet/smartphone devices and face-to-face learning sessions. This program is specifically designed to accommodate and engage the transient student population at the Tumaini Center. Our goal is to break down educational barriers faced by street youth, leverage their resourcefulness, resilience, and independence, and equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to not only advance their educational goals but also to have successful and productive careers in their community.
The success of this program will be both quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated with an eye towards adjusting the program to better serve Tumaini teachers and students as well as increasing our knowledge of how engineering education can work in low-resource environments.
The DeBoer Lab's work at the Tumaini Project is supported by an I2D Seed Grant. https://engineering.purdue.edu/GEP/Programs/I2D/I2D
For more information about the Tumaini Center visit their website at https://tumainieldoret.wordpress.com/childrens-drop-in-center/
