Ernest Emmanuel has his eyes set on a clear goal of becoming a doctor. A Form III student at Nyakato Secondary School, Ernest lives in Kakonda and walks about 30 minutes each way to attend classes.
Education has not been a guaranteed path for everyone in his family. Two of his sisters completed Form IV in 2020 and 2023 and are now at home without further studies. For Ernest, that reality makes his own journey even more urgent.
His ties to Nyakato run deep. He attended Nyakato Primary School and remembers watching the secondary school’s construction from the very beginning. “If this school wasn’t built here,” he says, “I would have had to move much further away to study.”
A big dream despite the challenges
Ernest is a science student, fueled by the ambition to join the medical field. But the road is not without challenges. Every student contributes 3,000 Tanzanian Shillings in academic fees per term, with two terms each year , a small amount to some, but one that is sometimes difficult for him to raise. Without payment, students are sent home. Studying at home is also tough; without electricity, he relies on a torch that runs on batteries, and there are times he cannot afford to replace them.
Despite these obstacles, Ernest’s determination shines. In his Form II exams, he scored an impressive Division 1.9, proof that his dreams rest not on convenience, but on resilience and effort.