Letting life take the course

My name is Raheli. I live in the Losimingori village of Arusha, Tanzania. I have studied till class 6th. I couldn’t complete my education and had to drop out of school. My stomach had an infection. To cure it, I had to be operated on twice. 

After that, I had to stay at home for many years to recover. Now, I am a wife and a mother. I am under someone’s commandment. I cannot join school again, because then I’ll just be thinking about my children. 

Had I continued my education, I would’ve liked to become a teacher. But I can earn through making jewellery or art. 

It is very important to get an education, especially for young girls, so that they become independent. I have a daughter, and I would like for her to be educated. It is the key to life. It can help in communicating with a friend like you and take care of everything around us.

In our village, getting water and quality education are two major issues. For education, the big factor is money.

Art has given me another medium of expression. I enjoy the time when we all paint together at the community centre. This is the first time I have experienced art.

The lesson that I have learned in my life is that don’t complicate things in your life. I could have gotten educated, but I couldn’t because of my health. I had to stay at home for many years, got married, and had children. That’s who I am now and the way my life has turned out.