On November 12, 2024, I had the incredible opportunity to visit Zumratul Islamiyyah Senior High School (ZISHS) and Zumratul Islammiyah Junior High School (ZIJHS) in Yaba, to take our mission offline and talk about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was an inspiring experience to engage with these young minds and share a vision I’ve carried since 2022. I kicked off the session just after their morning assembly, by introducing the SDGs, the 17 global goals created by the United Nations to guide us toward a more sustainable world. I focused especially on SDG 4: Quality Education , which is central to everything we do at EstheraSTEM and I explained how our work promotes this goal through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) education, with future plans of incorporating art into it to be STEAM which promotes more creativity. Next, I introduced EstheraSTEM itself, how it started in 2022 as a STEM club for my Rise challenge project, and how it’s grown into a st...

In Celebration of World Bicycle Day ( June 3 ), we will be exploring the Environmental impact of Cycling and why it's an excellent choice for a sustainable future. Cycling is an environmental friendly, sustainable and healthy mode of transportation that offers numerous benefits: 1. Reducing Carbon Footprint    Cycling is a zero-emission mode of transportation producing no greenhouse gas(es) or air pollutants. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “a vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons CO2 per year” equating to about .96 pounds of CO2 per mile while bicycles emit around .03 pounds per mile (including the emissions produced from manufacturing the bike) and that’s substantially less than even other environmentally friendly alternatives to driving. 2. Air Quality improvement    Cycling also improves air quality by reducing vehicles tailpipes emissions, which release harmful particles, chemicals and gases contributing to air pollution and negatively i...