Eleven-year-old Wakanyi Mgisi is the youngest of nine girls. Education is very important in the Mgisi family and Wakanyi is dedicated to her studies. She walks five miles to and from school every day. However, it’s a major struggle for her widowed mother to cover the costs of Wakanyi’s schooling. Recognizing this, in 2009 Wakanyi’s…

Chukista struggled in the traditional academic track in secondary school but has found her calling with vocational training. In 2011, Chukista graduated first in her class of mechanical electrical technicians at St. Anthony Vocational Training Center in Musoma. Chukista recalls: “I had nowhere to go and nothing to do because my exam results were not…

In 2002, 14 year-old Elibariki Walter became one of Project Zawadi’s first sponsored students. Elibariki was l iving at Children for Children’s Future (CCF), a center for street children in Arusha, and had been abandoned by his parents. Ranked 2 nd in his class of 115 students, Elibariki was described by the CCF director as…

Nyabina lives with her mother and five siblings. Her mother supports the family by making charcoal and selling firewood and grains to local families. Nyabina has to walk 5 miles each way to school and hopes to someday become a teacher. She receives a lot of support and encouragement from her mother who advises Nyabina…