The power of will:
One teacher’s mission to bring children back to school.
In Nyenjele, a rural community in Songwe, Tanzania, the road to school is just too long.
Every morning, children wake up before sunrise and begin walking. Some walk up to 12 kilometres to school, and 12 kilometres back home again in the afternoon. By the time they arrive, they are already tired. For many, the journey is simply too far, and too difficult, to make every day.
For years, Gaithan Msemwa, head teacher of Nyenjele primary school, has made it his mission to change that reality one child at a time.
For Gaithan, teaching is deeply personal to him.
“It is through the efforts of teachers that I am who I am today, I am proud to be a teacher so that I can help others.”
With 17 years of experience as a teacher and 4 years as a head teacher, he has seen firsthand how easily children can fall out of the education system, not because they don’t want to learn, but because the barriers are simply too many.
One of those children who was at risk of being left behind was Vestina.
Vestina’s journey had not been easy. Born sixth of ten siblings, her family struggled to make ends meet. Her parents, both farmers, could not afford to support all ten children in the household, which forced 10-year-old Vestina to drop out in Grade 2.
Instead of going to school, she spent her days doing household chores and helping on the farm for a month.
She then moved to Songwe to live with her older sister, hoping for a second chance. But even then, returning to school was not immediate. For four months, she remained out of school, unsure if she would be accepted back. However, her desire to learn never left her.
“I really wanted to go to school, and I am very happy that I am able to.”
One day, she noticed other children walking home carrying new school bags and books.
Curious, she asked where they got them.
“They told me they got them from school,” she recalls. “If only I could be accepted there, I would return to school.”
When the students brought the news back to Gaithan, he didn’t hesitate. Through the programme, teachers are also trained on providing psychosocial support and alternative teaching methods for children who have been out of school, and because of this, Gaithan encouraged her to come. After a brief conversation, he handed her a school bag, books, and pens and gave her simple instructions:
“Go straight to class. Just go and learn.”
She did.
Vestina joined Nyenjele primary school through the Complimentary Basic Education in Tanzania (COBET) programme, a pathway designed to support children and adolescents who have dropped out of, or never entered, the formal education system. Through the programme, she received learning materials including books, pens, and a school bag, items her family could not always afford. She also benefited from menstrual health education and access to sanitary pads, helping her attend school with dignity and confidence.
“The out of school programme has helped revive dreams that might have been lost.”
Implemented by the Government of Tanzania, the programme is part of the Equitable Access to Quality Primary Education for Out-of-School Children in Tanzania initiative, led by UNICEF in partnership with the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation and supported by the Qatar Fund for Development. Through the project’s efforts, in 2025 alone, more than 20,200 OOSC were enrolled in school (COBET and primary education) in Songwe region.
Today, Vestina is 15 years old, in Grade 7, preparing for her national examinations. She is also the head girl, a reflection not just of her academic progress but also of her leadership capabilities.
But her journey didn’t stop there.
Inspired by her own experience, she has since helped bring four other children back to school.
Stories like Vestina’s are proof that change is possible. Because of one teacher’s determination, children who once stood on the margins are now back in the classroom learning, leading, and shaping their futures.
And for Gaithan, that is what it truly means to be a teacher.
