Sophia’s beginnings as an advocator for change began at a very early age. At just seven years old, Sophia and her siblings were living on the streets of Arusha, Tanzania, for two years before she was given refuge by the Shalom Centre for Street Children. Like other children, Sophia used her new found stability and support to enrol in school. While many other children may have just carried on their lives as normal without looking back, as Sophia developed her own confidence, she also developed a growing passion to change others’ lives.
While in primary school in 2010, Sophia noticed that less than half of her fellow students passed the National Examination, which allowed them to carry onto a secondary school education. Out of a class of only 34 students, 44% passed. Truly affected by her friends’ inability to further themselves both educationally and economically, Sophia began campaigning for the students to receive extra classes after school. After facing many challenges, lobbying her school paid off, and the after school classes were awarded.
The next year, 80% of Sophia’s classmates passed the exam and were given the opportunity to start secondary school. Seeing the remarkable results, other schools in the area now offer these additional classes after school and during lunch times, raising the percentage of children in the area passing the exam from 65% to 85%. Sophia, named by her classmates as ‘Mtetezi Wa Maendeleo Yetu’ or ‘advocator for our development’ has gone on to push for even more positive change, fundraising finances for a generator for the Shalom Centre. Now the children at the Shalom Centre are able to use electricity to complete school assignments even after dark. At the age of the fifteen, Sophia was given the International Diana Award for her inspiring advocacy and campaigning work.
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