April 17, 2020
TFFT is thrilled to announce the arrival of the newest member of our team Mariah Bukirwa Nchimbi! Mariah is joining us as our Teacher Training Program Coordinator. We are happy to welcome her to TFFT and are excited about the wealth of experience that she brings to our Teacher Training Program. Read on to hear from Mariah and learn more about her!
“Stepping Stones”
Down the stream I have walked, tenderly yet firmly clinging onto every opportunity that crossed my path. At times I stumbled onto misfortunes, but these thankfully kept me going and led to fortunes for me.
When I left my job as a Monitoring and Evaluation personnel in a fast growing NGO 11 years ago, after completing my Bachelors degree, little did I know that relocating would so drastically change my career path.
I served as an International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) English as a Second Language (ESL) instructor at an international high school in Dar es Salaam, a job I received after working very hard to find something to put my hands on for a long time. Putting my best foot forward, I spent seven years working with teenagers, which made me fall in love with my work even more. These were amazing years that I will forever cherish in my work life. I played a parent-teacher role, trying to understand these young adults a little more than most people around them did.
From there, I moved to a more cosmopolitan international school in my 8th teaching year. This was the most treasured year of my teaching career. I leaped on a large opportunity and soared higher.
In the summer of 2017, I took a course in Johannesburg, South Africa to learn more about adult training and foreign language instruction. That year, the British Council in Tanzania scouted me for a training opportunity in their organization, an opportunity I seized with both hands. As always, I gave it my all and voila! I was appointed by the Country Director, as the Child Protection Focal Point. This was in addition to my trainer role at that time. This new chapter unveiled many opportunities for me as well as helped me gain new skills; mainly leading a team towards achieving a common goal and better planning and problem solving skills, to mention a few. Working at the British Council was that one connector, a piece of that puzzle I was searching for.
Over time, my interests in education policies and systems grew stronger. Coupled with being a mother, I have a soft spot for children and yearn to make a difference in their lives, especially the less privileged.
The TFFT Teacher Training Program Coordinator role caught my eye for this reason. Not only did this role mesmerize me because it was another huge stepping stone in my career, but also presents itself as a bridge, enabling me to connect my teaching and training experience to working with children and people that care for them: mainly the teachers.
I openly clutched this golden opportunity when a contract letter was wired to me earlier this year and since I officially joined TFFT on 01.04.2020, it feels nothing but a godsend for me. All TFFT staff are warm and always willing to extend a helping hand when needed, especially considering the fact that Arusha is a new location for me. Save for Covid-19, which has limited most project plans for the time being, the few field visits and outreach programs I have been part of so far leave me nothing but longing for more once everything gets back to normal.