An aspiring aerospace engineer with a visual impairment was granted £1,000 in funding for her new charity to support and inspire visually impaired children into STEM careers.
Abi Way, a 22-year-old from Hertfordshire, pitched the idea for Boomerang to the Enactus Spark Programme at London’s Excel in April and won the transformative grant out of 164 initial projects.
Way, who recently finished her bachelor’s degree at Queen’s University Belfast in Product Design Engineering, explained she does not know of any other UK-based charity focused specifically on Boomerang’s mission.
Way said: “I know from my own experiences…how many additional barriers there are for children who are visually impaired, not just in school and in the education system, but also in the wider scheme [of things].
“There are…stereotypes and beliefs that make it a lot harder for the children to progress with their education or follow their goals.”
Launched in 2025, the grant provider Enactus aims to empower students in the UK and Ireland to create sustainable and innovative business ideas which will have a positive impact.
Way added STEM subjects such as science are particularly difficult for visually impaired students, due to colour-changing flames and measuring things out in beakers.
She said: “All of the maths symbols are a lot harder to see as well…to this day, I still don’t have a calculator that does everything I need it to.
“I always felt like I was the first student doing STEM subjects with a visual impairment, which obviously isn’t true.”
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIBP) estimates there are more than 41,000 children and young people aged 0-25 with a visual impairment.
RNIBP also found children with visual impairments tend to have lower educational attainment than children without disabilities, and are twice as likely to feel unhappy or tearful.
Way was inspired to change this narrative by a successful pilot event she conducted while on her university placement year with Airbus Defence and Space last year.
It saw Airbus take four significantly visually-impaired children around the aeronautics company’s site, allowing them to touch the materials and explain their significance.
Way explained why touch is extremely important.
She said: “We had 3D printed models of satellites and random pieces of materials…trying to explain to a child who can’t see a satellite what that looks like is very difficult.
“We want these children to understand that they’re capable…because they’ll grow up hearing time and time again…that they’re not capable, that they shouldn’t be pursuing these things.”
Way said the success of this event was an inspiration for the three key programmes Boomerang aims to provide.
Firstly, the 22-year-old wants to create a mentoring scheme where visually impaired people in STEM careers can advise children and young people with visual impairments.
She is also keen to introduce an online forum where, parents, teachers and students can ask questions about reasonable adjustments in classrooms to allow them to take part in science experiments.
Way suggested the parent or teacher could input their query onto the forum and look at other people’s suggestions.
She said: “Your academic progression should never rely on how confident you are as a person, because that’s not fair when no one else has to speak up to the teacher in the front of class.”
The space fanatic also wants to team up with universities, schools and companies to organise more accessible events or exhibitions for visually impaired children, such as the one with Airbus Defence and Space.
Way said: “The idea of the Boomerang events is to make everything as tactile and interactive as we can, so that these children can get the full experience and all of that knowledge.”
For now, Way is keen to make sure Boomerang has everything it needs to ensure lasting sustainability before it launches and is excited for its future.
She said: “Boomerang is for the children, and with the children.
“What they want and what they need is what Boomerang will adapt into.”
Featured image courtesy of Abi Way.
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