We at AfricAid believe that all of our Kisa Scholars and graduates are amazing, but every now and then, one stands out from the crowd. Violeth Shayo is one of those Scholars. Dedicated, hardworking, passionate about girls’ education, and always eager to learn new things, she’s the ultimate Mentor for younger Tanzanian girls.
Violeth started working for AfricAid as a Binti Shupavu Mentor in January this year. Violeth teaches five Binti Shupavu classes each week and has almost 200 girls in total. She is one of four new recruits to the Binti Shupavu team. All of our Kisa graduates have a passion for helping younger women to succeed and AfricAid is very fortunate to have them! With Tanzanian role models like Violeth, we feel that the future for Tanzanian women is brighter than ever.
I sat down with Violeth last week to hear how things were going.
You were a Kisa Scholar at Arusha Secondary School from 2011 to 2013. What do you remember most about being a Kisa Scholar?
Kisa gave me the strength to stand up and speak my mind, something I’d never been able to do before. It also taught me to think of my society, even more than myself sometimes. I also remember my Leadership Immersion experience, where I taught 10 lessons from the Kisa Curriculum to younger girls in my home community – it was a very rewarding thing to do. Kisa has helped me to dream about how I can help society. And now I’m doing that through Binti Shupavu.
What do you love most about being a Binti Shupavu Mentor?
Binti Shupavu is great because it reaches girls who really need help. It teaches them to think, plan and really understand the importance of staying in school. Sometimes they tell me that they don’t really know why they are at school, so we help them to see why it’s important. Now, many girls are enjoying the classes so much that I feel we are really having a positive impact.
I love my job! Binti Shupavu has really given me the opportunity to realize my dream to help society. Giving knowledge to young girls and having an impact on their lives, is so important to me. I really enjoy it when I can see that they understand a lesson well – I know it will help them for their future. I even have one girl who rushes home after class so she can share what she has learned with others in her community!
