A new phase has just started this past week. I feel privileged to have been awarded this opportunity to be an intern as part of the Students for Development (SFD) program funded by CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency). From my home university (AKU-IED, EA*) I have traveled to the University of Alberta in Edmonton to spend one term as a visiting exchange student. There are so many people who have made this possible, who have believed in me and the program even when I was not seeing this as a possibility. It is humbling and at the same time makes me realize the responsibility that I owe to my community and society.
When we started our MEd course we were informed that we were part of a very small group of privileged people in our country who could pursue their second degree - if I remember correctly only 1% (or less) of the population in the East African countries manage to do this. Now two of us out of 31 have been given this added opportunity. It is my desire to use this opportunity well so that I may be in a better position to improve education for the good of the larger community. The metaphor of Mwalimu** Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the first president of Tanzania, who was a great educationist comes to my mind. He compared the responsibility of educated people to a person who had been given all the food left in a starving village to give him/her sustenance in the travel to fetch food for those who remain. Truly, the two of us (Sospeter and I) have traveled very far. We have traveled as representatives of our country and our institute. These resources could have been used in a different way to help the larger community. Entrusting it to us was done in the belief that upon our return, working with others and for others we can be of service to raising the quality of education and ultimately the quality of life for the society. This internship is indeed a privilege and at the same time a great responsibility!
*Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development, Eastern Africa
** Swahili for teacher
