11 Cows for a Classroom

My name is Mbayani Tayai. I belong to the Maasai community and grew up in the Losimingori village of Arusha, Tanzania. As a young boy, I would often take my father’s cattle out for grass and water.

One day, in the year 1997, I was out with the cattle, when it started to rain heavily. I was looking for a shelter to escape the rain when I came across a building.

Upon entering it, I saw a few boys gathered there. I asked one of them what they were doing, and he shared that they were studying. I was perplexed. “What do you mean by studying?”, I asked. He explained that it was a school, and they come here to learn how to read and write. 

I was fascinated by what I saw and asked him if I could join them. He readily agreed. For me, that was the beginning of my growth and journey. I kept on going and I thank God who brought me this opportunity and allowed me to keep growing.

I was the first in my family to attend school as conventionally the tribe did not consider it imperative for children to be sent to school. My mother convinced my father to let me pursue an education. And with their blessings, I graduated from the University of Dar es Salaam.

I now run a social impact organization called Vijana Inspiring Foundation. We work towards empowering youth and women in Tanzania and East Africa by enhancing their creative capacity.

My dream for young boys and girls is to get a world-class education and for that, we have to move away from the former mode of education and start teaching them digital skills.

It is imperative for young girls to get educated to become independent. If they are skilled, they will be able to run their businesses, and will not have to depend on their parents or husbands.

My goal is to empower the youth of my country. And I am working hard every day to achieve that goal.