May Higher Learning Fund

Christina, 24 years old.

‘’Breaking Barriers: Christina’s Path’’

Christina was born in the Shinyanga region, located in Northern Tanzania. She is the second of five children—four girls and one boy. Among her siblings, Christina stood out with her strong vision for education. The family lived with their mother, who worked as a hotel attendant and earned a daily wage. Unfortunately, their father passed away in 2006 when Christina was just six years old.

In 2006, her mother took her to her grandmother’s home in Tinde. There, she joined Ngokolo Primary School in Shinyanga. Life in her grandmother’s village was challenging; she had to assist with all the household chores and even collect leftover charcoal from the jungle to sell. This income helped buy school clothes and other necessities. Despite facing difficulties, she persevered. Although there were days when she could not attend school due to the long distance (lack of transportation), she managed to graduate from primary school in 2012.

In 2013, she was selected to join secondary education, but she faced challenges. With no one to support her, she had to find domestic work to earn money for her mother’s medical treatments. She worked as a housemaid until May 2013. Despite her efforts, she managed to attend school for only three days in May 2023 before falling ill and leaving.

Following her recovery, returning to the same class was no longer feasible due to the significant gap in her education. Undeterred, she persisted in working as a housemaid for two different families in Shinyanga. Later, she moved to Mara region and then Mwanza, continuing her work. Despite her efforts, finding a school proved elusive, and she did not succeed in enrolling.

In February 2016, Christina secured another job in Arusha as a housemaid. While working there, she continued her search for a school. One day, while listening to the radio, she heard about the Agape AIDS Control Programme—an NGO that aimed to provide free educational opportunities for girls affected by early marriage and pregnancies. Through this program, Christina received a second chance to return to school. She began in February 2018, taking the Qualifying Test (QT) for both Form One and Form Two. In November 2019, she successfully completed the Form Two national exam and qualified to continue as a Private Candidate (PC) for Form III and Form IV. Unfortunately, she could not afford the tuition fees required for the PC level, so she decided to return to Arusha, where she had been working.

In 2020, Christina heard about the Jifundishe Free Library and completed all the application processes. She joined the Independent Study program as a Private Candidate (PC) student, studying Form Three and Form Four for two years. Her hard work paid off, and she successfully passed the Form Four national exam in 2022.

In May 2022, Christina advanced to the next level at Jifundishe and focused on arts subjects—History, Geography, and Language—for one year. She took the national exam in May 2023 and successfully passed. As a result, she was selected to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Labor Relations and Public Management at the Institute of Social Work in Dar es Salaam, starting in October 2023.

Despite facing challenges, Christina could not secure a government loan, which is a common situation for university students in Tanzania. However, thanks to the Jifundishe May Higher Learning program, which supports university students, Christina now receives funding for her three years of university studies.

 ''Your donation contribute to uncovering the dreams of many Tanzanian youth''

May Higher Leaning (MHL). May Higher Learning Fund is a University Scholarship Program that supports students who lack family and relative support. These students have graduated from the Jifundishe Independent Study Program and are qualified to join university-level education. We conduct thorough research on each student to determine whether they have received government loans and at what percentage. Based on this information, we provide additional support using available funds. This support includes tuition fees, laptops, flash drives, meals, accommodation, transportation, field practicals, and necessary books and stationery, tailored to each student’s needs.

May Higher Learning has been supporting university students for almost 10 years. The support covers 3 to 4 years of degree programs, depending on the duration of that particular degree course. The fund has been very helpful to our beneficiaries. To date, we have 30 university graduates who have graduated from different universities in Tanzania, and most of them are now employed. Among these 30 graduates, we have professionals such as lawyers, doctors, teachers, tour operators, ICT specialists, community development professionals, human resource experts, and pastors.

To date, we have 20 continuing students placed at different universities in Tanzania, and 5 of them will graduate in November 2024. In 2023, 50 advanced students graduated from the Jifundishe Independent Study Program. Among these 50 students, 30+ qualified to join university-level education, and we are glad that 25+ received support from government loans. They are now actively pursuing their careers at universities, which will help them sustain their future in this competitive world of technology. In the academic year 2023/2024, we were able to support 5 students who hadn’t secured government loans. Each of them has signed their scholarship contract, received a laptop, flash drive, tuition fee, and returned to university.

Jifundishe, along with all May Higher Learning students, is very grateful for this milestone. Thank you for making the lives and dreams of these young women and men a reality through educational opportunities. As we look ahead, we envision a transformative community with more educated individuals and a reduced poverty level compared to before.