Giving It Their All

TGFT invests in girls’ education, partnering with each girl to provide her with invaluable experiences inside and outside of school. Three of TGFT students are now young women studying at university. They are the first in their families to achieve this remarkable goal in a country where 5% of girls attend secondary school. Each of them comes from a large family: their parents and grandparents are farmers growing corn and beans to provide for their children and grandchildren.

Mariam is studying accounting at the Institute of Financial Management in Dar es Salaam. During school vacations, she has interned three times at Meru Community Bank while living at The Girls Center. Mariam wants to be a banker, an accountant or a businesswoman. She is becoming a savvy entrepreneur selling cell phone minutes to her classmates who prefer the convenience of purchasing minutes from her rather than going to a store. In December, we visited Finyuely and Mary who are studying at Mwenge Catholic University in Moshi. They were so proud to show off their university and the room they share together. They have been best friends since 8th grade and I think sometimes they pinch themselves to believe how far they’ve come. Finyuely wants to be a Science or Math high school teacher, a profession which perfectly fits her passion and spiritedness. In February Finyuely and Mary began teaching at a local government secondary school for 5 weeks during their semester break, an integral part of their teacher training. Despite their long days of teaching, their commute from The Girls Center to their school, and preparing their daily lesson plans, their positive experience as student teachers is preparing them to become competent teachers.

Nano, Mary, Melanie (10th grade student), Finyuely, and Estahappy at Mwenge Catholic University

During her Gap Year at The Girls Center, Mary interned at Arusha Women’s Hospital which reinforced her dream to become a doctor. TGFT challenges and engages our students to develop realistic goals for 21st century jobs after graduation. So, Mary is also interested in becoming a pharmacist or a science high school teacher.

These TGFT students are generously supported through scholarships from Moyo International (http://www.moyointernational.org) which provides support for women’s economic development, education and access to legal justice in Tanzania. Our students are gaining skills, knowledge and confidence they need to thrive as leaders at home and in their communities.