By Magreth Kimario | Project Director
Fausta, 31 years old,
‘’Faith and Determination’’ Donate to Jifundishe to support Fausta’s mission.
Fausta is the third born in a family of six children. She was born in Hanang District, Manyara region, in the northern part of Tanzania. Her parents primarily depend on pastoralism for their livelihood.
In 2002, Fausta began her primary education at Getaghul School in Hanang, Manyara region. Her seven years in primary education were challenging due to her family’s struggle to obtain food. Her father, the family’s provider, was frequently ill and unable to support the family consistently. Despite these hardships, Fausta completed her primary education in 2007. She performed well in her standard seven national exams, earning a grade B, which qualified her for secondary education. In 2008, Fausta joined secondary education at Measkron School in Manyara region. However, she only managed to attend for one year due to family problems. She then stayed at home without any income-generating activity, as her family could not support her. She was very scared about her future without anything to do. In November 2009, she decided to get married at 16 years old. She had her first son in 2011. Unfortunately, the marriage did not last, and they separated. Fausta returned to her parents to start a new life with her one-year-old son.
She stayed home for a year before moving to Katesh, Manyara, to work in a hotel to provide for her son. After three years, she moved to Namanga, Longido district in Arusha, for a similar job with better pay. She worked as a hotelier in a small restaurant but was never satisfied with her life. She entered a relationship with another man and accidentally got pregnant, having a daughter in 2016, but did not marry him. Her life continued to be tough as she took care of her two children, with their father not being responsible at all.
In 2017, Fausta joined the Seventh Day Adventist Church and was baptized in 2019. This marked a turning point in her life. In 2022, she began reading and preaching church books as part of her church service. She enjoyed this role because it allowed her to meet many educated church members who recognized her talent despite her limited education. They encouraged her to consider returning to school, seeing her potential.
Fausta started praying and contemplating the possibility of returning to school. In 2022, she went on a church trip to the University of Arusha (UoA). There, the people preaching in English and realized the importance of education impressed her. During this trip, she met a Kenyan man who also encouraged her to return to school.
In June 2022, Fausta followed up on returning to school. She found a center in Longido with an annual fee of $170, which she could not afford. Through her church network, she contacted a woman advertising a private school near Jifundishe. The woman explained the school details, but the fees were higher. Fausta, being a mother of two, needed an open school where she could study while still taking care of her family. She explained this to the woman. Fortunately, the woman was familiar with Jifundishe and promised to follow up on it. After a few days, she called Fausta and explained everything about Jifundishe’s services. Fausta was very happy and excited about the opportunity, so she decided to move from Namanga, Monduli district, to near Jifundishe.
In January 2023, Fausta joined Jifundishe’s Independent Study Program as a Qualifying Test (QT) candidate. She is very active in class and is taking both arts and science subjects. In November 2023, Fausta sat for her Form II national examination and passed with a B average. This year, she is pursuing her studies as a Private Candidate (PC) and expects to sit for her Form IV national examination in November.
Fausta aspires to be a psychologist and a pastor, with plans to study theology as well. We wish her the best of luck in her exciting career journey.
By Magreth Kimario | Project Director
By Magreth Kimario | Project Director
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