We were delighted to receive these videos from girls who have completed their training with the help of sponsorship from the Order.
VICTORIA’S STORY
Victoria*, 16, is eight months pregnant. She lives near Moshi Municipal in rural Tanzania. This is her story.
“I finished Primary 7, and then went to stay with my father for Form One. I only started term 1 at a Day Secondary School. During the holidays, I went to Moshi town to see my mother. But I found that she is too poor.
“Someone came, and he started telling me things. I met him in April during the Easter break; he was a shopkeeper, and 28 years old. And I started asking because we were poor, but when they give you, they take. And I agreed. I didn’t know I was pregnant when I came back to school.
“But then I found out. My father told me, ‘You have to leave my house. You go to your aunt.’ He’s done providing me with care. He told me that he doesn’t have money he can waste on me. And he told me to leave the school.
“I wanted to kill myself, because of this problem. But my aunt told me, ‘You’ll live, and you’ll stay with me. You can stay here. We will fight and struggle.’
One day our neighbour told me about what KITC is doing to help marginalized girls like me and so, I have decided that after giving birth, I will stay with my aunt, and will apply for one of the Gender Based Violence (GBV) Programmes at KITC. I pray that at least, I will be accepted so that I can start over my life once again.”
Victoria says that her friends haven’t come to see her since she got pregnant and she doesn’t know why. She has been asking herself, but she doesn’t know why they don’t come.
“I want my baby to be a policeman, to provide security. I want to help others; if I see him providing security to others, me too, I will become happy. And I want to become a hotelier to serve peoples’ needs and if possible own my own eatery. I want to be faithful to my son, or if she’s a girl, providing her with what she wants, in order to reach her goals”, says Victoria.
* We have changed Victoria’s name to protect her privacy.
Into 2022 at KITC
The Order’s Educational Scholarship Fund has become a ‘life liberator’ for many families in Moshi, Tanzania. Now welcoming its sixth cohort of scholars, the Kilimanjaro Information Technology Centre’s programme aims to counter gender based violence and the disadvantages many young women face in Tanzania. As well as class-based tuition, the girls also benefit from practical training in the...
The Order of St. George Educational Scholarship Fund
The Order of St. George Educational Scholarship Fund aims to help eliminate educational poverty in Tanzania by providing young women a way to escape from Gender Based Violence, complete their education and become productive citizens of Tanzania. Many young girls are affected by various forms of Gender Based Violence just because they were born female. Gender Based Violence comes in many...
Books for Africa
The Order of St George is organizing a book drive in support of the teachers and students at Kilimanjaro Information Technology College in Moshi, Tanzania. The aim is to provide educationally enriching reading materials to teachers and students at the college, which currently has no library. Once set up, the library will not only serve the college but also local elementary and high schools, most...
