COMMUNITY HEALTH EDUCATORS
My name is Merciana, and I am a mama from the Masonga village in the Rorya District. I finished my primary education at Masonga in 2000. In 2001, I got married and started working as a farmer and doing housework as a house mama. After five years of marriage, I was able to continue with my secondary education, but I had two boys, and they brought a lot of challenges. It was tough being a mama and a student. After finishing form four grade level, I continued doing my household activities, and I was also able to farm corn and use the harvest as a business. In 2013, I was lucky and got a job with Maji Safi, and it has helped me build my understanding of health and environmental cleanliness. It has given me the ability to protect my family from disease and to build their ability to protect themselves. Maji Safi has plans to continue giving health education within villages that are close and far. This means that the community can leave behind the problems of waterborne diseases.
I believe we at Maji Safi do a great job of educating the community members about sanitation and hygiene issues, while empowering them to make positive changes in their behavior. This benefits the participating families and the community as a whole. My hope is for us to provide information to every single household to prevent infections and diseases that arise from a lack of health education. Maji Safi’s education campaign is changing the Shirati community’s perspective in four major areas: the dangers of hand-to-mouth infections, treating drinking water, the economic importance of disease prevention, and the importance of recognizing early signs and symptoms of disease. People who never used to treat their water have now started to use chlorine and other methods that Maji Safi recommends. These water treatment methods work because they are cheap and take little time.
My name is Sikujua, and I am 28 years old and the mother of two children. I have a secondary education. In 2014, I joined the MSG team. I am now an experienced Community Health Educator. I am happy to be part of MSG because I continue to learn new things about diseases and other important things. My salary from MSG helps me run my life, and I love working with children in our After School and Singing and Dance Programs. I am excited to keep working for MSG in the future.
My name is Diana, and I have lived in Shirati my whole life. After finishing secondary school, I took classes at a local computer school. However, when I heard about Maji Safi Group, I was excited and decided I wanted to join the group. I have now been a CHE for more than five years with MSG, and I fight the spread of preventable diseases in my community.
I work with children in the Singing and Dance Program. Through singing and dancing, the students learn about the importance of being healthy. Also, through their performances, they’re able to share their ideas about disease prevention with other kids and their community in general. MSG helps my community understand the importance of improving hygienic and sanitary conditions to prevent disease.
My name is Magdalena, and I am the sixth child in my family. After graduating from secondary school, I learned how to type and worked in a secretary shop. In March 2015, while working as a typist, I joined the community cleanup group that partners with Maji Safi Group. After volunteering for the group for a year, I joined the MSG team in March 2016, and I am still very happy to be working there.
My name is Rosa, and I am the third child in a family of six in Kirongwe. I was born in 1996 and raised by my grandma. I went to school in the Homabay District of Kenya. I finished my primary education at the Osani Hills Academy in 2009 and went on to finish my secondary education at Nyamongo Girls High School. After finishing secondary school, I could not continue my dream of becoming a health worker due to the inability to pay school fees and moved back to live with my family in Shirati and help farm. I am the proud mother of my daughter, and she has taught me many lessons and makes me feel the responsibility of being a single mother. I am happy to be employed with MSG as a Community Health Educator. Continuing to work in the field makes me think I will one day reach my dream of being a health worker. It is so interesting to walk around in the communities and teach health education, especially teaching girls about hygiene and the different ways that they can prevent early marriage and dropping out of school thereby improving many of their lives. MSG is indeed doing great work for Tanzanians and has helped me both financially and morally. I understand the importance of keeping the environment clean and different ways of preventing diseases, which prevents spending money on curing diseases.
My name is Hellen, and I was born at the Shirati KMT Hospital in 1996. I come from the village of Kyariko in Shirati. I started primary school in 2003 at Shirati Primary and finished in 2009. I continued at Katuru Secondary School in 2010, but was not able to finish because of family problems in 2013. After leaving school, I was working at a small business and had my first daughter. In 2016, I succeeded in joining the MSG team, and I am still very happy to be working with them. I really love working for the community, and I am very thankful to have gotten here and want to keep working to reach my goals.
My name is Neema Mwita Felician. I was born in the Tarime District on Feb. 2, 1993. I completed my primary education at Komaswa Primary School in the Tarime District in 2008 and subsequently joined Manga Secondary School – also located in Tarime. In 2015, I started at the College of Business Education in Mwanza and received a Certificate of Procurement and Supply. After completing my education, I worked as a laboratory assistant at the Maswangwa Mining Company. After working there for two years until my contract expired, I joined a Tarime company as a storekeeper for one year. In March 2019, I accepted an invitation to join Maji Safi Group as a Community Health Educator trainee. I was trained in all of Maji Safi Group’s lessons and participated in different programs, including health screenings, radio broadcasts, and school programs. I learned how to educate the community on how to protect themselves from waterborne diseases. I am so happy to be part of this team. My community, my family, and I all benefit from Maji Safi Group’s education.
My name is Faraja Johanes Ranca. I was born in Shirati on Jan. 16, 1998. I graduated from Milenia Ya Tatu Primary School in 2012 and started at Musoma Utalii Secondary School in 2016. After completing my secondary education, I joined Akelo Day Care Center as an art coordinator, and I worked as a volunteer teacher for small children from 2017 to March 2019. On March 11, 2019, I joined MAJI SAFI GROUP as a Community Health Educator trainee. I was trained in various health lessons, participated in field activities, and helped with health screenings. On February 14, 2020, Maji Safi Group hired me as a full-time Community Health Educator. I am so happy to be part of the team, so I can help my community through the educational initiatives provided by Maji Safi Group.
My name is Evaline Odongo. I was born in the Rorya District on May 5, 1995. I completed both my primary and secondary education in the Rorya District. I graduated from Bukwe Primary School in 2008 and continued at Bukwe Secondary School. In 2015, I joined the Shirati College of Allied Science in Shirati and received a Certificate of Community Health Level III. After completing my education, I worked for two years as a shopkeeper at a retail store in Kabwana. In March 2019, I was one of the female candidates selected to join Maji Safi Group as Community Health Educator trainee. I received training in all of Maji Safi Group’s educational packages, and my skills as a Community Health Worker were an added advantage for me. Maji Safi Group now employs me full-time. I am so glad to be part of the team helping the Rorya community learn about disease prevention.
My name is Cosmas Ibrahim Mkonda. I was born in Busega in the Simiyu District on May 23, 1995. I went to Milenia Ya Tatu Primary School and graduated from Masonga Secondary School in 2011. In 2012, I started attending Bihawana in the Dodoma Region for A-level education. Afterwards, I joined the Tanzania People’s Defense Force. In 2016, I started attending the University of Dodoma to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies, but due to financial problems, my family failed to pay for my school fees. I had to quit college and returned home where I established a vegetable garden and managed to earn enough money to build a small house in my home village. On March 11, 2019, I joined Maji Safi Group as a Community Health Educator trainee. I studied their health lessons, participated in field activities, and helped with health screenings. On Feb. 14, 2020, I became a full-time Community Health Educator for Maji Safi Group. Maji Safi Group’s health education has helped both my community and me as an individual deal with a variety of health issues.
