In recent years, STEM has been an area of study that has been greatly promoted in schools across the nation, an enterprise that is not shared by many other countries. Despite this seeming lack of interest in science and engineering in foreign areas, Diamond Bar High School junior Kenneth Wah continues to spread interest in technological fields when he flies to Ghana each summer.

The junior began traveling to Ghana in 2014 as a part of the Trans-Cultural Network program, which is a part of the Global Leadership Adventures program that focuses on educating students in Ghana. He teaches mainly junior high students at Avete-Anloga Basic School.

This past summer, he focused on math and science and brought PVC pipes to launch paper rockets with the students, and created a baking soda and vinegar volcano, both activities which had not been experienced before by the majority of the school children.

“A lot of the people there don’t go to school, even those with public schools in their villages because they don’t have enough money for education,” Wah said. “I want to help benefit their education.”

As another part of his agenda at Avete-Anloga, Wah started a robotics program for the students, bringing LEGO Mindstorms, kits containing the hardware and software necessary to create and program a small robot, to help kick start the process. The students Wah was with were “excited because they were seeing something new for the first time.”

He was motivated to visit schools in Ghana by his desire to help the less fortunate. After searching online for aid opportunities in unique places such as Tanzania and Nepal, Wah decided to help middle school students in Ghana gain more knowledge, especially in STEM fields.

Wah continues to go back for the experience and the opportunity to learn about African culture and lifestyle. Each year that he goes back, Wah believes he learns a lot more about how they live and becomes more interested in their way of life.

“The best part about going to Ghana is seeing the children and people. You would say there is a stereotype for danger but it’s a very friendly country,” Wah said. “You don’t see lots of crime, people say ‘hi’ to random strangers, and everyone treats each other like family.”