Joash Gambarage didn’t put on his first pair of shoes until his Grade 7 graduation ceremony.
As a poor student in the Tanzanian town of Mugeta, one of the most impoverished villages in eastern Africa, Gambarage borrowed footwear for the occasion from a boy belonging to a better-off family.
Today, Gambarage is a PhD candidate at UBC’s department of linguistics. His life now is a far cry from his childhood experience, which remains a common one for many kids in his home country. Shoes are often an unaffordable luxury. Children drop out of school and beg for money and food in the streets. Some collect meager earnings by selling eggs from family chickens.
Slowly but surely, however, Gambarage is bringing hope, education and opportunity to his village, thanks to his inspiring Mugeta Children’s School project. As part of that effort, he’s raising money to address urgent needs that will help put the project on a more solid footing.
Giving back to his community
Gambarage arrived at UBC in 2010 thanks to a four-year doctoral fellowship (he previously studied and taught at Tanzania’s University of Dar es Salaam). He felt grateful and lucky for the opportunity, given that he’s the only Mugeta resident to study at the doctoral level. “It has been wonderful,” says Gambarage, who specializes in African linguistics. “UBC has changed my life completely.”
As his life transformed, Gambarage was also keen to help others. “I wanted to give to my community back home,” he says.
Gambarage donated $300 of his scholarship funding to start what ultimately became the Mugeta Children’s School. His father, a retired teacher, used the money to build a single classroom, which housed 15 children and a volunteer teacher.
The cash also helped pay for flour, used to make porridge for the kids. Sugar, a rare treat, was purchased to sprinkle on top of the servings. “The children loved it. Most of them had nothing to eat,” says Gambarage.
Over the next few years, word spread and interest in the school grew. Villagers helped gather stones and water to help construct a school extension. A roof was installed. More money was collected, thanks to donations from friends and UBC colleagues, including $800 raised on behalf of the linguistics department.
Another contributor is Vancouver’s Norma Rose Point School, which Gambarage’s son attends. For the past few years, Gambarage has delivered talks to the school’s elementary students, who have raised about $2,000 for the Mugeta school through craft and bake sales. Norma Rose Point has also donated about 600 books to the project.
“Our students and staff have been moved by the images and stories of what we take for granted: daily education, a building, a floor, a roof, supplies, books, a playground,” says Rosa Fazio, Norma Rose Point’s principal. “Our students are contributing to making a difference in other children’s lives.”
“I think the Mugeta Children’s School is an amazing project. It’s just a labour of love in many ways,” adds Bryan Gick, the head of UBC’s department of linguistics. Gick speaks from experience. In 2013, he visited a couple of projects in Tanzania, including the Mugeta school. The surroundings were sparse, he recalls, “but the kids were 150 per cent present, and just taking in everything they could learn.”
Next steps
Gick notes that the project has been evolving and improving since his visit. Indeed, it now boasts five classrooms and two washrooms; about 105 students attend grades 1-5. The school employs seven teachers, and Joash’s retired father also assists with instruction.
Classes are taught in Swahili and English – a crucial offering, given that school instruction in Tanzania is given solely in English from the secondary level on. “This is a huge opportunity for the kids,” says Gambarage, noting that English-only schools in Tanzania are typically expensive and based in cities.
Gambarage is pushing to do more. While the UBC linguistics department also donated seven computers to the school, they’re not currently usable due to a lack of reliable electricity. A floor is needed for a classroom extension, and walls need plastering. A well would provide a vital, permanent water supply for the children and residents of Mugeta.
Gambarage estimates that the cost for these improvements is about $9,000. So far, he’s raised about $2,400 towards that amount. He’s continuing to raise small donations from friends and colleagues. In addition, a fundraising event is planned for October 11, marking a collaboration between the Mugeta school, the UBC Africa Awareness Initiative and Hope for Happiness (the latter is a non-profit organization co-founded by Jen-ai Lai, a UBC science student and Schulich Leader scholarship winner).
Despite the challenges, Gambarage is optimistic. Mugeta Children’s School has already conquered numerous obstacles, and he’s determined to keep it on a self-sustaining path to success. “Education is a powerful weapon,” he says. “My goal is to make the school independent so it can stand on its own.”
If you would like to make a donation, please visit the Mugeta Children’s School website or its Indiegogo campaign.
For more information about the school, please visit its Facebook page.