Our Mission and Vision

Behind the Scenes

Africa’s capacity to compete on the global scene depends on her ability to adopt innovative technologies as well as high research output in the form of drugs development, etc. This will require practical solutions that will leverage the playing field for the future generation of scientists, both men and women. In line with this, Students for A Healthy Africa (SAHA) conducted a 2-month survey and concluded that the root reason behind the lack of women in science was simply because a huge proportion (about 90%) of them never had the opportunity to engage with research during their college years.

In response, we have developed the African Research Academy for Women (ARA-W), a premier research program that will enable at least 5 exceptional African university undergraduate women in the sciences to spend 2 months of the long-term summer vacation at University of Ghana's Noguchi Medical Research Institute (NMRI).

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MISSION

We are an organization with a mission to encourage and inspire STEM education among African women. We hope to bridge the gap between male and female African scientists as the continent marches forward in achieving a “developed continent” status.

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Our goal is to bring together young women from diverse backgrounds and disciplines who will use their skills in STEM to address health challenges in the developing world.

VISION

• Beyond our summer research academies, we envision graduates of the program going on to serve as ambassadors and mentors to future participants. 

• Organize workshops at various high schools in our host African countries to expose  female students to careers in science and research.

• Our goal is to have a life long relationship with students who pass through the program by connecting them with established women in science both here in the U.S and in Africa who will nurture, guide, encourage and monitor them in both their academic journey and career goals.

• Establish a mentor/mentee program here in the United States, where we will pair students here in the states and in Ghana with high school students who are interested in scientific fields. Through this program, we hope to help guide them towards a career path in STEM.

• Form strategic partnerships with research institutes and undergraduate institutions both local and overseas to host our participants for a summer internship research opportunity.