Visually impaired student Mekyla Belgrave once associated robotics mainly with sighted people, until she built a robot, experimented with coding and flew a drone through an inclusive STEM programme.

Belgrave, who attended a special education school for blind and visually impaired students, is a recipient of the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD) and ExxonMobil-funded Inclusive Innovators STEM Robotics and Life Skills Training Programme.

She shared her experience at the launch of the programme's seventh phase on Friday at ExxonMobil's Ogle office, saying it exposed her to science and coding through hands-on learning.

"The programme was really exciting and fun because I learned a lot. I learned about science, coding. My favourite part about coding is when I got to write a story. I like writing in general," she said.

"It was really fun using technology to create a story. I also got the opportunity to build a robot and it was really fun/challenging," Belgrave added.

She also recalled touching and flying a drone, and competing alongside sighted participants.

"The best part was, we participated in a competition alongside people who were sighted and we were able to win," she said.
Belgrave is now in her final year of social work studies.

Delivering the feature address, Education Ministry official Deborah London said the initiative was about more than STEM exposure, stressing the need to connect skills to future opportunities.

"Our success should therefore not only be measured by how many children participate, but by what skills they acquire and where those skills take them," she said.

The programme has reached almost 1,500 children with disabilities across several regions since 2019.