The Root Of The Science Podcast
*Disclaimer: The views expressed by the guests in the podcast episodes do not reflect my own*
The Root Of The Science Podcast
EP 169: Viloshnee Singh, A Chemistry Lab In A Box For African Students
Imagine turning any safe space: under a tree, in a hall, or a small classroom, into a working chemistry lab. That’s the promise of the CIA kit from Chemistry in Action.
We engage Viloshnee Singh, the CEO of V4 Group and founder of Chemistry in Action to unpack how a simple, affordable tool can improve science education across Africa.
We talk about the access gap in STEM, why so many learners experience science only in textbooks, and what it takes to bring real experiments to schools without labs, electricity, or internet.
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So this kit is called the CIA kit. It's chemistry in action, right? But I often refer to it as a lab in a box. So we are telling, and and and the story we're saying is that you don't need a laboratory to be to learn and to use this kit. You can do it under a tree, you can do it in the field. You just need a space, a safe space to work through the experiments. So we're not saying that you have to incur these huge costs, right? We we produce this tech this um learning tool, this practical learning tool, which is low cost, it's not reliant on electricity or advanced infrastructure, and it's practical in diver settings. So any any space becomes a laboratory. That's basically what we're saying. And that is how we actually making these learners in these schools which are in rural areas and lack resources and services, that it doesn't matter, you know, it doesn't matter. You can use it anywhere, and you will still experience what we want you to experience.
SPEAKER_00:Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Root of Science Podcast with your girl and with any. If you are new here, welcome to the show. Remember to subscribe and like this episode and make sure to disseminate it to those who will enjoy this episode. Let's get into today's episode. Have you ever imagined learning science without ever touching a test tube or entering a lab? For many African students, that is the case. Access to science education in Africa is hindered by a lack of inadequate infrastructure and resources like labs, electricity, and internet connectivity, and also a shortage of properly trained teachers. These issues limit the quality of science education, especially at secondary and higher education levels. As a result, the continent struggles with a skills gap and high youth unemployment. Today, we are speaking with Veloshni Singh, the CEO of V4 Group and the founder of Chemistry in Action. Chemistry in Action is a public benefit organization that is dedicated to improving STEM education across Africa through affordable, curriculum-aligned chemistry kits and teacher training programs. Her work aims to inspire the next generation of African scientists and innovators. Let's get into this episode. Hi, Velochni. Welcome to the show. Hi Anne. Thank you for having me. It is such a pleasure to have you on, and I'm so excited to chat about you and the incredible work that you do. But before we get into all of that, could you just briefly introduce yourself to our listeners and tell us more about yourself and the work that you do?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, great. So I'm a geologist, a business development executive, an entrepreneur, and a sustainability activist. I think I'm passionate about science. I'm passionate about making it accessible to the young African youth, empowering them with practical, affordable science education. I think it's important that we make an effort to inspire the youth towards innovation because that's what our continent needs. So in a nutshell, um technical expertise with a commitment to social impact.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, fantastic. Um, you did mention that you have various roles. So let's get into like the meat of this. What was that spark or what was that major read reason for you to venture into um making science um accessible and accessible for young people?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think the inspiration came from realizing the urgent need to improve STEM education in especially under resourced African schools. Uh, traditional teaching methods and lack of laboratory facilities often hinder student engagement when it comes to science. So the vision to provide affordable curriculum-aligned chemistry kits coupled with teacher training to make science hands-on, enjoyable, and relevant, um, to inspire the next generation of African scientists, because we definitely need them.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, for sure, for sure. So you um started chemistry in action, as we can see in the lovely logo behind you. Um, tell us on that story. When did you start this? How long have you been doing, and what exactly do you do with chemistry in action?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so we piloted, so it was conceptualized. Well, it's been conceptualized for a while, you know, things that go on in your head and you think and you like, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. But we actually piloted um and we were thankfully supported by the Chemical CETA cheetah in 2022, and we piloted in Ghauteng.
SPEAKER_02:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:And basically, what it does is that it provides schools with high-quality affordable kits that align directly with the national curriculum, enabling practical experiments despite resource limitations. So we also train the teachers to use these kits effectively, uh, boosting teacher confidence and enabling experiential learning. So, this this approach we feel supports student comprehension, curiosity, and confidence in STEM subjects.
SPEAKER_00:Fantastic. So you mentioned that you work with teachers, which I think is really, really brilliant. So talk us through it. Um, how do you ensure that the chemistry in action kits that you provide are used effectively in the classrooms?
SPEAKER_01:So by training the teachers, and which we have realized in many schools, many of the teachers themselves have never done chemical experiments. So, in a practical world, if you don't do something practically, how how is it possible to relay that to students, right? If you've not had that experience. So, with the teacher training workshops, we really help the teachers by doing the experiments with them so that they understand and that they become more confident. Because we know everybody's intimidated by chemicals, it's like dangerous. So we kind of really give them the backing to understand that you know it is workable, you can do it. And if the teacher is confident in what they're doing, that confidence is then relayed to the learners. So by doing hands-on, you know, it transforms abstract and intimidating concepts into tangible experiences. So we we build in critical thinking, problem solving, and engaging engagement by letting students explore with teachers to discover principles through direct interaction. And this actually improves retention and enthusiasm for science. So it is a value chain that you know we from the start providing the kids, training the teachers, making them confident, letting the teachers teach the learners, making them confident, and finally having a student that is more confident, more passionate, more interested to actually be a scientist.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, for sure. I mean, just thinking about many of us who have had um brilliant teachers, one of the main reasons we love a subject is when we love a teacher who teaches a subject. And I think you know, getting a teacher to be excited and to also enjoy the subject will make a child be like, oh, I love Mr. So-and-so, Miss Miss and So-and-so, and how they teach chemistry. So I think that's a nice way of going around the chain because sometimes, I don't know, you can sometimes see when a teacher doesn't want to teach a subject, and as a student, you you get into a room and you're like, ah, I hate the subject, but you can also feel when a teacher loves a subject, and you as a student, you also get really excited, right? 100%.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, that was that was how I felt about my teachers. I loved all my teachers and I loved their subjects, but certain subjects, right? And and that energy is is really what influences the learners. And it's so important because even in grade one, if you love your grade one teacher, you love school and you want to go every day, you know? So it's still, even in this age of technology, that emotional connection with teachers is still there, no matter what anybody says. So that's why I felt it's very important that we get the teachers to buy into the concept and we get the teachers excited about what we're trying to do for STEM, for African STEM, you know, and by getting our teachers brought in, then we are confident our learners are also going to be uh bought into the concept and gonna be excited to do science.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. And I'm sure when they become these great scientists who we are expecting them and um hoping them to be, they can be like in grade so and so I had this amazing teacher, and that's why I love the subject. So 100%. That's pretty exciting. So speaking of the learners, um, do you is there a certain age that you start using this career kits at, or is it available from the onset of school?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, and so you know, I was very intentional when I developed this kit. I felt that there was, I felt that there was a gap with the grades eight and nine, right? I felt that generally there was a lot of focus on grade 12 and matriculating and what you're gonna do. But in our curriculum and in in this country, in grades eight and nine, we have to choose subjects to take to grade 10. And I just felt that we were not paying enough attention to those grades. I just felt that we need to intentionally motivate and inspire them into a field because I felt like they were just being forced into take subjects because everybody else is doing it, you know. It's not really what I want to do. So when I said I was intentional about this kit, the intentionality was to give the grade eight and nine learners an opportunity to experience science, to experience chemistry, the practical aspect of it, and to fall in love with what it does. Now we know science is very broad, right? There's lots of subjects, but I just felt chemistry was the most practically engaging subject where you can smell it, you can see it, you can hear it, you can touch it, you know. I just felt it it really activated all our senses. So this kit is directed at grades eight and nine in an effort to inspire them and to get them excited about science so that at the end of grade nine, they choose science as a subject going into grade 10.
SPEAKER_00:That's that's brilliant. And you're right. Um in great, and it's also that beautiful, beautiful transition where you did um, you come from you know primary school where you did very basic um natural science, as you call it here in South Africa, and then now you're doing more of the start differentiating between the biology, the chemistry, and the physics. So I think it's a great time for them to start understanding these differences and hopefully to get them, like you said, excited about these topics. So, Velochni, I want us to then speak about some of these realities of um bringing these kids, especially um into communities that might lack basic infrastructure, like a lab or electricity. How does that work in that case?
SPEAKER_01:Yes, it has been, it has been challenging and for those specific reasons, and we've had to be creative and resilient about what we're trying to do. So this kit is called the CIA kit. It's chemistry in action, right? But I often refer to it as a lab in a box. So we are telling, and and and the story we're saying is that you don't need a laboratory to be to learn and to use this kit. You can do it under a tree, you can do it in the field, you just need a space, a safe space to work through the experiments. So we're not saying that you have to incur these huge costs, right? We we produce this tech this um learning tool, this practical learning tool, which is low cost, it's not reliant on electricity or advanced infrastructure, and it's practical in diver settings. So any any space becomes a laboratory. That's basically what we're saying, and that is how we actually um making these learners in these schools which are in rural areas and lack resources and and services, that it doesn't matter, you know. It doesn't matter. You can use it anywhere, and you will still experience what we want you to experience.
SPEAKER_00:So, what is exactly is in a kit? Um, if you if you care to explain that you say that you don't need any of these resources. So somebody gets the kit, what would they essentially be getting?
SPEAKER_01:So it's fully kitted, so it's got all the chemicals, obviously, in the relevant quantities, because we don't want any unnecessary accidents. So it's got all the chemicals, all the consumables, it's got um the PPE, the safety gloves, the masks, uh, the goggles. Um, it's and and and the equipment in the kit is full, like full glass test tubes, uh, tongs to hold, um, and it's got the safety cards. So each experiment has a safety card as a card, an experiment card, which is double-sided. On one side of it is the experiment from start to finish with the pictures. So it's fully explained, it's got pictures, so we tell them this is what should be happening at this stage. So it is totally student focused because we want the learners to have the experience. We don't want the teachers to demonstrate, that is not the intention. So the learners can absolutely use the kit on their own, right? The only thing it doesn't have is a box of matches for obvious reasons, so that'll be supervised by the teacher, but it's got everything else, so that's why I'm saying, you know, you don't need a fancy laboratory or or anything, it's just the learner with the kit and a supervisor to just light that Bunsen burner when it's required. And there's eight experiments, and we've given enough consumables to maybe do each experiment three times if they want, right? But not so much of chemicals that it's going to be a problem. And and obviously, you know, it should be supervised. That's all we're saying. We're saying we just want a super, it's supervised whether by a student teacher or or a teacher, but it does not need to be heavily supervised because the learners can actually do everything themselves.
SPEAKER_00:That's so brilliant, and it's really exciting that everything is already there. Um, so you've been doing this for a couple of years now. Um, and I want us to then talk about some of the challenges. Um, what are some of the challenges that you faced in scaling uh this project or initiative? And as you answer that, um, I'd also like you to tell us what has that taught you in the process of running a social impact initiative that focuses on education.
SPEAKER_01:Um, yeah, and lots of challenges. I mean, logistics, funding, constraints, reaching remote areas. Um, it has been challenging, but also one of the key aspects of having a STEM-based social impact project is the culture shift.
SPEAKER_02:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:So in a lot of schools, because how they're teaching science, if they are teaching science, because there are schools who are not teaching science, right? They're not teaching science. I was horrified, but they're not teaching science. They like reading experiments from a book, or if they have technology, they're watching a video, but they're not practically getting their hands dirty, and they're not practically experiencing the excitement of doing an experiment. So it's so important to actually teach the teachers why it's important that students do practical experiments. And when I say it's a culture shift, from not having ever done that, it's very hard to actually convince them that this is the best way to learn. So that has been the challenge. It has taken a lot of conversations, a lot of practical demonstrations to make them understand. And they're not fully convinced, even when we do a project, right? So we have to hope that while they work with it, they actually get to it. But a lot of the teachers that we've um that we've workshopped, they come to me and they say, you know, this has been so amazing, and I wish I had this when I was a student, because then I could have been a scientist. That has happened so many times. They said we didn't have these tools, and you know, it's it's like it's like I feel so bad because I feel like they could have had other career choices and they were like, you know, just had to settle. So I think it the partnerships uh with community, the partnerships with the schools, partnerships with funders, the transparent communication, uh uh, the constant communication about impact and sustainability is also important when we when we're trying to do these projects. And it takes time and it takes effort and it takes commitment and it takes uh diligence and resilience. And yeah, I'm sure you've you've you've probably experienced that in your work as well. But um, yeah, it's tough.
SPEAKER_00:It is tough. I can imagine, but you know what they say, all great things are not easy. Um, so it will it it's it will take some a lot of effort, but the work that you're doing is so important. While you're speaking about changing the culture, it got me thinking. So, what do you think is the issue? Is it the way that the teachers are being taught how to teach the science? That could be a fundamental problem at FETs or um or universities or teacher training colleges. Is that where the the issue is? Because they are teaching how they've been taught to teach, right?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you know, that's I think that's definitely one of the reasons they it's it's all very closed and boxed. You know, this is how it needs to be done, and this is how we should be doing it, and uh and you don't blame them, right? But also, you know, science, as as you've mentioned, is an intimidating subject. Yeah, and yeah. And in my time, I mean, growing up when I was in school, it was like the culture was that science are reserved for the very intelligent students, right? And that is what exactly, and I'm like now over 50. So forever we've been teaching that science is for the intelligence. And I'm like, if you're passionate about anything, you can do well at it. So, how do we get that message across to the learners? You know, if you're passionate, you can do it. So, science is not reserved for the intelligent, it's reserved for those who are passionate about it. And if you think about it, it's like we don't, we're not educating our learners about how vast science is. You know, it's not just for doctors, it's not just for pharmacists. Science is in everything. It's chefs, it's engineers, it's every single thing is science. So that's what I'm saying. You know, how do we get that is what we're trying to do. We're trying to say everything in your life is science.
SPEAKER_00:So, how can you not want to know more? Precisely, every single thing, every single thing is made up of everything related to science. And um, I think this is also something that I've also been trying when I go to schools as well, to get learners to understand that it's not just being a doctor or an engineer, but it's so broad. And even in conversations with many people who I've had who are involved in STEM, I also get like shocked that wait, this is this is another area that you can get into. So I think it's really good to get people at this right age where you can really plant that seed and um help somebody venture into a path that they didn't even know existed, which is the issue as well.
SPEAKER_01:100%.
SPEAKER_00:100% and so um we you touched on you know the importance of working with um collaboration with rather collaboration with funders, with the community, with the schools, etc. So, what kind of support um do you organizations like yourself um need to reach more schools, not only in South Africa, but I'm sure the dream is to go Africa and even maybe the world, right? 100%.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. 100%. So um so obviously the biggest the biggest um uh the biggest uh aspect that we're looking for is that partnerships, you know, partnerships with with large organizations to support the initiative. Um, you know, so and that requires funding, it requires uh access to networks, you know, the as you mentioned, you know, we want to expand, but I want to keep it in Africa. I think we have enough, I I think I'm very focused on Africa. I've done a lot of work across Africa for many years in the resources sector. So I'm passionate about Africa and the African youth. So for me, it's about keeping it in Africa. So what what we're looking for is partnerships with governments, NGO funders, and industry to create a sustainable ecosystem for the education to reform, right? And even though we just one aspect, and there's lots and lots of other organizations that are tackling all the other aspects, you know, as we need to collaborate with each other to actually be able to tackle STEM as a total solution, which is what we want to do. So, so the funding, the access to networks, we want to also add some digital aspects to our product, you know, we want to be able to give it a better reach across Africa, and we know how everything is moving towards AI. So we want help to actually add some of that aspects to our product. But that is the kind to obviously increase scalability, to make it more innovative, to make it more relevant, and to actually get people that'll share the ownership of this huge task that we're trying to actually achieve, um, to get more African youth into that STEM pipeline so that we can produce more innovation off our continent because um because we need it, and we have the potential. We have the potential to do it.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. I'm for um Africans creating African solutions because we have the skills, we have the intellect. I think our issue might be just the resources and mobilizing um some of those things. So I wish you all of the best. This has been such a wonderful chat, and I'm almost sad that it's wrapping up. But I wanted to ask you a question to close off something very off-topic. Um, you mentioned that, you know, when you were studying and you were in school, you didn't see yourself getting into science, yet you are here all these years later. Um, but like looking back, what do you think young Voloshni, if she had chemistry in action, what do you think would have been somewhere in science? Like uh is there a particular field or area that you think um you would have maybe um detoured in?
SPEAKER_01:Oh wow. Um I threw you in there a little bit. You mean not science-y, nothing sciencey?
SPEAKER_00:No, like is there like maybe like in science, because you've now exposed to a lot of different science careers where um you're like, oh, this might be really exciting. Is there something that you're like, ah, this might have been fun to do um if I knew that it was something accessible?
SPEAKER_01:Actually, I'm gonna I'm gonna stick with it. I'm gonna stick with chemistry in action. Well, I'm a geologist, right? So geology is is the earth and I love science-y, and I I just feel that you know it um it really helps me to make a meaningful difference, you know. Chemistry in action really gives me the opportunity to transform science education, to help transform communities. And you know, in Africa, the Ubuntu concept, I think, you know, it really helps the individual, the community, and you know, the entire environment. So I think it's a I think it's a good, it's a good stepping lever stone to actually achieve the kind of Africa we all want. Um, so I'm gonna stick with chemistry.
SPEAKER_00:I love that. I love that. You're like, listen, and I'm gonna pick, I'll pick it all over again. No, um, as you should, because I mean, if you didn't, you so many other people's lives would not have been positively affected. So um that's a brilliant choice. Thank you so much, Vilishni, for chatting with me today and chatting about the incredible work that you do. I learned so much, and I hope that you know other people are also inspired. So, briefly, how can people get um in contact with you if they do want to partner up or if they do want access to these uh to the tools that you are offering?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, great. Well, firstly, thank you, and thank you for the opportunity to actually put us out there and chemistry in action. And I hope there is a lot of interest because what we're trying to do is very relevant and it's and you know it's value add, and and we're feeding pipelines. That's what we're trying to do. We want to keep we want to make sure our STEM pipelines are strong and robust and sustainable. So we are we have a website, it's uh www.v4group.co.za, and all the information is on the website. Our contact details, some of the projects we've done. So yeah, we'd be happy to for people to engage with us via the website. There's a contact page, um, and that would probably be the easiest um way to get to us. But yeah, we look forward to all the engagement.
SPEAKER_00:Fantastic. Um, thank you once again, and to everybody else who's tuned in. We do hope that you do reach out if um to Velocianye or if you know a school or somebody or teacher who'd really benefit uh from the work that they're doing. Um, do definitely reach out and thank you for tuning in to another episode of Ritual Science Podcast with your girl and with any. Until next time, goodbye.
