Helen is currently working as a Project Supervisor with Canada World Youth Team. We met her in Parakuyo, Tanzania where she was busy working with 16 Canadian and Kenyan youth who are in Tanzania on an exchange to promote leadership and volunteerism.

Helen is a committed volunteer and alumni of Canada World Youth.  She was a Project Supervisor on an exchange to Manitoulin Island.  She has also participated in a Learning Forum in South Africa as a result of her volunteer efforts.

Despite all of Helen’s exemplary leadership skills, diverse experiences and commitment to volunteerism many people who work with Helen would be surprised to know that at 28 she has still not completed high school.

Although Helen has accomplished a lot she has had a very difficult past.  When Helen’s parents split in her 4^th year of primary school Helen’s mother left her to a family friend to be looked after.  She was not left any money to continue with primary school so each school year she had to work on nearby farms before she could raise the money she needed.

When she finally completed primary school she was eager to go to high school but she had no one who could pay her fees.  She spent a year working as a housekeeper when she found someone who promised to pay her fees after a year of work with them in Dar es Salam. Unfortunately, it was an empty promise and by the end of the year of work, Helen still had no way to pay for her school fees.

After this set back, Helen began volunteering with Act for Africa in Dar es Salam. Through her work here she was able to find a sponsor for one year of high school but when it came to pay for the examination, the sponsor was no longer around and she couldn’t pay the examination fees.

 With no way to attend school and no job prospects Helen started volunteering with Uvikiuta Centre nearby Dar es Salam, Tanzania.  This is where she became very involved with Canada World Youth and is still involved today.   Currently Helen is working  and is doing her best to raise money for school fees of $340 CDN needed for her to fast track through Form 3 and 4 this year.   She is hoping to attend Makija Education Training Centre in Dar es Salam which is specifically geared to students who are completing high school as adults. It offers intensive instruction including classes and extra help on weekends.  She has been able to complete Form 1 and 2 in this way through saving up enough money on her own, although it took her several years to save this money.

Helen is so motivated to finish high school because despite all of her skills and experiences she has from her commitment to volunteering this does not carry the same value as a high school diploma. She feels she is not able to take the leadership roles that she would like to without a high school education.