One of my greatest pleasures as editor is witnessing the number of humanitarian and charitable organizations rooted in business and general aviation. I am constantly inspired by the generous hearts of pilots and professionals within this industry and strive to share some of that good news with you all reading.
The following is a recent example of a powerful story sent to me by G650 captain and activist Kimberly Perkins, written by Jordan Watson. The article immediately struck me as it combines several inspirational elements into one story – educating youth, inspiring future pilots, spreading awareness of general aviation, and paving the way for more women in aviation. Maybe it will inspire you, too.
“It was my first time at an
airport and the first time I got
in a plane…I want to be a pilot.”
Phemo from the village of
Dikgonnye, Botswana
In celebration of this year’s UN World Creativity and Innovation Day, Aviation for Humanity and Dare to Dream partnered to bring Phemo and 29 other schoolgirls from rural Botswana to the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport for a day of education and empowerment.
Having never been to an airport or seen an aircraft up close, the girls had a day full of firsts. They were taken on a tour of four models of aircraft – the Beechcraft Baron 58, Beechcraft Hawker 800, Cessna Grand Caravan, and Cessna 172 – and spoke directly to pilots and other aviation professionals. They also engaged with the Airbus Little Engineer program, which allows students to explore STEAME-focused (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, and Entrepreneurship) learning, such as aerospace mission planning, robotics and 3D modeling.
The girls are students in the Artesia Junior Secondary School in the Kgatleng district of Botswana. They live in rural settlements surrounding the village of Artesia. The culture in this region is such that many girls are not aware that they are able to pursue any career, let alone a career in a STEAME field. Following the Creativity and Innovation Day event, 15-year-old Kelebogile shared, “I learnt that whilst still at my age, I have to have a dream, work hard, and achieve it. The motivation I had from the captain inspired me and gave me confidence to work on myself.”
It is the mission of Dare to Dream to advance African youth, women and girls by nurturing their curiosity for and opportunities in STEAME fields, specifically aviation and aerospace. The organization was founded by Captain Kgomotso Phatsima, one of the first female military pilots in Botswana. Inspired to create an event that would show Botswanan girls that careers in STEAME are available to them, Captain Phatsima and Captain Trudy Cassen, international outreach director of Dare to Dream, connected with Aviation for Humanity founder and president Kimberly Perkins.
Perkins is a Gulfstream 650 captain as well as researcher, writer and speaker on gender parity, inclusion and aviation safety culture. She founded Aviation for Humanity to support the education, equality and empowerment of youth around the world through the recruitment of the aviation community and traveling public to deliver school supplies to orphanages, shelters, and underfunded schools across the globe. Working together, these three captains were able to show a group of incredible girls that STEAME career success is achievable. They hope to continue the movement and inspire many more.
It is the goal of the two organizations to repeat this event each quarter in order to create a recurring pathway of empowerment and education for a total of 120 girls per year. To cover the transportation from the girls’ rural homes to the airport, food for the day and guest speakers, the cost for each girl to attend is 65 USD. Sponsorships are currently being accepted and can cover the cost of an individual girl’s experience or contribute to the event as a whole. Interested sponsors can make donations for next quarter’s event on the Aviation for Humanity website (aviationforhumanity.org). One hundred percent of donations go toward this Dare to Dream project for empowering the next generation of aviation professionals in Africa.