Tanzania: Poverty biggest barrier to education

Josephine, 14, is an orphan and now lives with her aunt. She lost her parents and youngest sister to Aids, however, her blood-work is clear and negative. She was enrolled into the joint education partnership in 2017. Living far from school, she is forced to travel 4km to get there. Poverty remains a constant worry for Josephine as her aunt will not contribute to the additional costs. When asked what it meant to her to have access to education she replied, “Being in school means I will face less hardship and have a less fragile future. I would much prefer to be in class than live at home with my aunt who tries to prevent my going to school. She often beats me. She wants me to get married.” She was identified by the partnership as being vulnerable and teachers would buy her exercise books to ensure she doesn’t go without. Despite being three years behind she is catching up extremely quickly and ranking in the top five students out of 168 pupils.

Paddy Dowling/EAA