My name is Neema Muyengi Edward. I was a part of the second graduating class in 2021 at Kitenga Girls Secondary School (KGSS). I am the first born among three children. I was born and raised in the Mara region of Tanzania by a middle class family. I don’t remember much about my childhood, but what I know is that in my community, the Kurya, there is gender inequality especially in education due to bad socio-cultural beliefs. I thank God that I attended primary in a public school and then I joined my wonderful secondary school, the Kitenga Girls Secondary School, which has given me my identity and great dreams.
About my country
Tanzania is a country found in the continent called Africa, in the eastern part of the continent. It has many lakes and many attractions, such as the mount Kilimanjaro which is the largest mountain in the continent and also known for its vast wilderness areas including Serengeti national park populated by the big five animals.
Tanzania is a place where people are very friendly, and where they would typically call out “mambo/ hello” or “karibu/welcome’’ with extended warmest smiles on their faces.
Unfortunately, it is also country where people from different tribes do not consider educating a girl as a priority due to negative cultural practices such as early marriages and female genital mutilation.
I am writing this essay to inform people about the journey of Tanzanian girls, including me, and the role played by education to address challenges encountered by Tanzanian girls, especially in education. I will use the Kitenga Girls Secondary School (KGSS) as a case study to show the merits of education to girls.
KEY ASPECTS OF MY LIFE THAT HAVE SHAPED WHO I AM TODAY
Inspiring figures
Through reading articles written by various authors, I got to learn about many people who bring changes in encouraging girls’ education, such as Michelle Obama. Another important source of inspiration for me is Flaviana Matata. She is a woman who studied electrical engineering and broke through into modeling after being the first contestant to represent Tanzania in Miss universe in 2007, which she was awarded while having a shaved head. Later she formed the Flaviana Matata foundation which empowers girls in education through various programs, such as supplying sanitary pads in government schools to ensure safe periods. Up to date, almost 5,000 girls are empowered through her organization! Thanks to these inspiring figures, I am inspired to work hard, to help ensure many girls attend school and have a way to fulfill their dreams.
Parents and the society in which am living
My parents support me in most of the things I am doing, which is why they took me to school to receive an education. Aside from this, in my society, girls’ education is not given a priority. In fact, almost 120 million girls are out of school due to this situation. I have been shaped to who I am as a GEC volunteer so as to make changes in my society and enable other girls to have education.
Emotional Wounds
After my lower-secondary education at KGSS I was selected to join a certain upper-secondary school near my home place. Due to weather conditions and health problems, I got sick and could not attend most of my lessons. This caused my headmistress to mistreat and humiliate me in many ways. When I tried to express what I was going through, everyone still saw me as an undisciplined girl – this led me to not complete my studies. Because of that wound, I learnt that I need to create change to ensure that girls in school don’t get mistreated and drop out of school. This is my motivation as a volunteer: to ensure girls can complete their education safely.
Being a girl in Tanzania means being born as a submissive gender. They are not given a chance to express their feelings and thoughts to others. But girls in Tanzania are very powerful and have powerful voices. Through my education at KGSS, and witnessing GEC’s support for the school, I understand that through commitment and sacrifice more girls can attend school.
CHALLENGES FACED BY THE TANZANIAN GIRLS
In Tanzania, early marriage and lack of freedom when it comes to reproductive health are challenges to many girls. Most girls attend primary education, but the majority of them drop out when they enter secondary school due to their menstrual cycle starting or early pregnancy, which lead to early marriage. This is true in the Kurya community. In addition, as a result of this, girls who are not educated have fewer opportunities in the workforce.
Girls in some communities are forbidden from eating some types of foods which worsen their nutrition. For example, in Arusha adolescent girls are forbidden to eat some kinds of fish due to a belief that the fish leads to rapid breast growth. Also, Mbeya adolescent girls are not allowed to eat goat meat, because meat is reserved for adults only.
Girls are not allowed to attend further education and lack property ownership. In most Tanzanian communities, girls are not allowed to attend school leading to a high illiteracy rate. Also, girls are not allowed to own property such as land or cattle, for example in the Kurya community.
MY PERSONAL VIEW ON THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION, AS A TANZANIAN GIRL
Education has liberated me.
It has increased my knowledge, strengthened my mind and formed a good character in me. This helps me know who I am, what I want and what I should do to be helpful to others. For example, thanks to my education, I am an efficient decision maker and an effective thinker, and now I can evaluate people’s needs and support them in finding suitable solutions.
Education has helped to build and increase my confidence.
Through education I can stand in front of people and explain the dangers facing the girl child in Tanzania, especially in the Kurya community where I live. Through debate practice, group discussions and participating in sports like netball at school, I interacted with other students and increased my confidence.
Education gave me a safe world.
Through education, I am aware of the crimes done in my community and choose not to be involved in such matters. But more importantly, I will fight to ensure every girl can go to school and have a safe world.
Education gave me more avenues for the career of my choice. I scored good exam results in my lower-secondary school at KGSS, which means that not only do I have many options to make in any career, but also I know what I need and how to achieve it in a way that I will be helpful to others.
THE WAYS THAT EDUCATION HAS INFLUENCED MY ASPIRATIONS AND DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE
Education has boosted my confidence for success. With the knowledge I acquired at school, I have increased my confidence and self-esteem which are very important. I can speak in large groups of people without fear and I can explain challenges facing girls in my community especially in educational matters.
Education has improved my network. Through academic achievements, I attained high language and speaking skills, through which I can collaborate and meet with people with similar goals as me. For example, I can collaborate with the GEC team members and these connections can help me change the life of other girls in my community, who are denied the right to education.
THE IMPACT OF KITENGA GIRLS’ SECONDARY SCHOOL HAD ON ME
KGSS helped me improve my academic results. The school helped me get knowledge which shaped me into a confident and a girl, with a better understanding of the world and my surroundings. This increased my sense of determination.
KGSS has taught me about leadership. I was given great opportunities to learn about leadership. For example, for two years at school I was the academic prefect and worked very hard to ensure that girls had a sufficient level of English. I was choosing debate topics which are simple and familiar to all students. I was also supplying a disk (small wooden block) to students who speak their mother tongue and Swahili, so as to ensure people speak English. I also worked in the garden as a Tree Mama, where I was planting and taking care of a tree in order to positively impact our environment – something that was established by Patricia Minter-Powell, a friend of GEC.
Memorable moments. The most memorable experience was the feeling I had after we survived the fire in 2018. I learnt to be thankful for everything that happened and choose to let life go on, by returning to school for the remaining three years.
Also, Sister Lucy’s jubilee ceremony was very wonderful and most important I got the spiritual teachings at school and got baptized and confirmation.
Thanks to the education I received at KGSS, in one year I see myself at college continuing to work hard and progressing towards my career goal as a radiologist. Also, in the coming years I plan to gain experience in different organizations to develop a broad understanding of how organizations operate. My dream is to build an orphanage home so as to help the orphans and other children to get education, and become self-reliant so as to fulfill their dreams.