Isaac is the third of four children born to illiterate peasants. His parents, Moses and Happy, grow maize, cassava and beans, and, like all small-scale farmers, they rely 100% on the rains for their harvest. Having never been to school themselves, they saw little value in education. However, the hope of having one educated child who might free them from the vicious cycle of extreme poverty inspired Moses and Happy to beg and borrow enough to send Isaac’s oldest brother to government school and on for a certificate in teaching. However, Isaac’s brother never found a job, and at 27 he spends his days laboring in a nearby rice paddy. “My parents lost all hope after putting everything they had into my brother,” wrote Isaac in his application essay to our Unite Scholars Program. “They never got anything in return.”
For their second born, a daughter, Moses and Happy had no money for school, so she was married young for a small dowry of livestock. Today, at 23, Isaac’s sister lives in Mnasa, not far from her parents’ hut, with her husband, also a peasant farmer, and young children.
As soon as he could walk, Isaac spent his days laboring in the fields alongside his parents and siblings. But he had a dream of being educated, so he begged and pleaded for a chance to go to school. Finally when Isaac was 10, his father sold a goat to buy him a school uniform and a few basic supplies, and Isaac was able to attend the nearest government primary school – a two-hour journey by foot.
For the next three years, Isaac woke long before dawn, trekked to school, and returned home long after dark. With no money for kerosene, Isaac was never able to study after sundown. Yet somehow he performed well and showed promise. But then life turn another turn for the worse when his mother delivered his sister Neema. During her birth in a rural clinic, Neema suffered an unknown trauma that nearly took her life and left her permanently disabled. Today, at eight years old, Neema cannot walk or talk. She drags her small body around in a makeshift crawl, and her mother carries her most places she needs to go.
Faced with the reality and crushing burden of a sick child, Isaac’s father decided to lighten his family’s burden and sent Isaac away. He found a man in the Morogoro district of Central Tanzania who agreed to take on Isaac as a domestic servant. In exchange for Isaac’s slave labor, Isaac would attend a nearby government primary school. This man became Isaac’s guardian.
While his new life was exhausting, lonely and full of challenge, Isaac was thankful for the opportunity to study, and by the end of primary school, he served as an academic prefect and earned As in all of his classes. Isaac’s excellent performance secured him a spot at the prestigious government secondary school Mzumbe; however, he still had no money for transport, uniforms, books, school supplies, mandatory fees, etc. His father begged Isaac’s guardian for help, and the man agreed to do what he could.
During his years at Mzumbe, Isaac was quiet and hardworking. While he mostly kept to himself, he did participate in the school’s Anti-Corruption Club, and “through this club,” Isaac wrote in his application essay to Unite, “I became wise to the fact that corruption is the enemy of human rights and development at all levels.”
Over the course of Isaac’s four years at Mzumbe Lower-Secondary School, he left campus only once. The rest of the time, when all the other students traveled home for the holidays, Isaac stayed back alone doing chores for teachers in exchange for food. Even after his Form 4 graduation in November 2019, it took Isaac nearly four weeks of working odd jobs before he was able to earn the ~$4 necessary for him to purchase a bus ticket to Sumbawanga, the town nearest Mnasa with a bus stand.
***
Back in the conference room, Isaac continued his speech: “God created the world through words.” Long silent pause. “So what kind of words are you going to use? Words that build or words that break? Watch your words… They will define your life.”
It was after 4:00 PM now and I was starting to feel a bit anxious about getting our Scholars on the road as I didn’t want them out and about in Dar es Salaam after dark. And it had rained all day, which meant that the roads and the traffic would be worse than normal. And I was specifically worried about Isaac. Like most of our new Scholars, this was his first time in this sprawling East African city of more than 6 million people; however, unlike the others, it was also his first experience in any town larger than a few thousand people.
“In closing,” Isaac said, “I want to thank Unite. I know that love is the origin of Unite, and love is everything. Through love we can find success and cooperation. We humans were created to depend on each other, but never before has anyone held my hand. Now, with Unite, I will reach the mountain peak of success, and I will encourage others who suffer and struggle to do the same.” Long silent pause.
“And to you, Unite, in return for your gifts to me, I give you my love, my cooperation and my words.”
***
The time had come to send our Scholars back to their local host families before they would start their long journeys to their homes across the country the next morning. For Isaac, his journey to Mnasa was the longest; it would take him three days with numerous buses, motorbikes and long walks.
When I went to hug him goodbye, Isaac leaned in and whispered, “Anne Wells, this was my first time ever speaking in front of people. I am afraid that I didn’t express myself well.”
“Oh my goodness Isaac,’” I said far too loudly, smiling bright. “You were absolutely magnificent today!” And then, without thinking, I laid my hand softly over his heart. “We all love you, and you very much deserve to be here. Sawa? Ok.”
Long pause. “Sawa Anne Wells.” “Ok,” Isaac replied, as silent tears spilled from his big brown saucer-shaped eyes.
***
I told Isaac that he is now a beloved member of our Unite family, and I meant it. Today, Isaac is home with his family in Mnasa until June when we will bring him back to Dar for a two-week-long training program with all of our Unite scholars from across the country before they all begin their Form 5 academic years in July. Isaac is now working on a few detailed budgets and proposals for Unite – one for a wheelchair for his sister and another for an interest-free loan to launch a small businesses that could help alleviate some of his family’s burdens.
It is our intention to help Isaac and all of our Unite Scholars grow into the talented leaders of tomorrow who can help bring an end to extreme poverty, ignorance, poor health, corruption, environmental degradation, violation of human rights, and so SO much more. And to get there — to reach these BIG goals — we need ALL the help and support we can get.
Ours is one world. Like me and you, Isaac — and his struggles, talents, hopes and dreams — matters.
TO MAKE A TAX-FREE DONATION IN SUPPORT OF OUR WORK WITH ISAAC & ALL OF OUR UNITE SCHOLARS, CLICK HERE.
NOTE: Following this Unite Scholars’ kick-off meeting in Dar, Unite’s program director Anty Marche sent Mzumbe Secondary School’s Headmaster Wenceslaus Kihongosi the photo above of Isaac and Anne. Wenceslaus was in shock. He texted back: “Oh my God, I am crying here. You have done wonders. You have opened this boy’s world.” Anty called Wenceslaus to inquire further, and Wenceslaus said that the boy he knew was always sad and hiding. He said that this is a photo of a confident, contented young man. He called this photo proof of “a miracle.”
