Form IV

Maryam lives with her parents and older brother and sister. She attends Mombassa Commercial secondary school, where she is studying to become a businesswoman. She enjoys learning about Economics, commerce, book-keeping, mathematics and English. Maryam has a shy, but sweet personality and is very determined to do well in school.

She wants to travel to the U.S. in order to exchange ideas with other American students and learn more about the culture.

Hawa lives with her parents and has 6 older siblings and 2 younger. Her favorite subjects are Swahili, English and Civics. Hawa describes herself as polite, active and helpful. Hawa has a passion for learning and she said if she had the opportunity to help anyone she would help disabled students or students with special needs get a better education because “education is the right of any person.”

If she had the opportunity to talk to President Jakaya Kikwete she would suggest that he establish vocational education to help students get jobs when they finish their schooling.

Shemsa has four younger brothers and three younger sisters who all live with her parents on Pemba, a nearby small island. Shemsa, however, does not live with her family because she came to Zanzibar to get a better education. She takes the three hour ferry ride home when there are breaks from school. Shemsa scored well enough on her exams to go to the best government secondary school, Lumumba. She currently lives in the Mazizini girls’ hostel with other girls her age. She ranks seventh in her class, but is very humble and a very hardworker.

Rawhiya’s father is a teacher and she has two older sisters and one younger sister. She loves biology and hopes to study disease pathology and serve as a doctor for her country. She is concerned that there are not enough doctors in Tanzania which is why she wants to become one.

Rawhiya’s passion for learning is obvious. She reads English storybooks and the newspaper outside of school in order to improve her vocabulary and her awareness of Zanzibar and surrounding countries. She believes, “Education is like light which can keep me away from darkness.”

Thaniya lives with her parents just outside Stone Town. She has 3 older siblings and 2 younger. She is very outgoing and vibrates confidence as a natural leader among her peers. She ranks 3rd in her class of 51 students at Ben Bella Secondary School. Thaniya likes to learn English because she wants to be able to communicate with people internationally.

Mtumwa is the first born of five. Her parents are separated and before receiving the S4Si scholarship she did not have enough money to ride the daladala (the local bus). Some days she arrived late to school because she had to walk. Nonetheless, she still ranks number 4 in her class of 50 at Ben Bella Secondary School. Her favorite subjects are Biology, Chemistry, Physics and math. She hopes to become a doctor and treat diseases such as Malaria, AIDS and Cholera.

Hadia has 4 older siblings and 1 younger brother. She currently lives with her brother because her mother died not too long ago and her father is too old to work. Her brother paid for her school fees and supplies in the past, but with the scholarship she says her brother will now be able to use the money for basic needs such as meals and clothes for her father and younger brother.

Rehema lives with both her parents and has many siblings, 7 brothers and 4 sisters. She attends Ben Bella Secondary School where her favorite subjects are Physics, Chemistry and math. She says that by getting a better education she is able to teach her family and friends and raise her family out of poverty. She also explained in the interview that she feels her level of education is not yet high enough and desires the opportunity to improve it.

Salma is number one in her class of 51 students at Ben Bella Secondary School and was the only girl to make A’s in every single class last semester. Salma lives with her parents, her grandmother and her seven siblings, three younger and four older. She enjoys learning science and hopes to one day become a doctor. She said she would use this scholarship to help her family to pay for fees and to make sure the rest of her siblings receive an education.

Maida has three brothers and three sisters and lives with her parents. Maida attends Ben Bella Secondary School. She loves physics and math and wants to study and do well in school in order to improve her family’s standard of living. With a background in science and math she hopes to someday become a pilot. She also hopes to have the opportunity to make the pilgrimage to Mecca some day.