This time I hand over the pen to Naomi to share her story...
My name is Jacob Naomi. I was born in 1987 in Bagamoyo district, Chalinze, the coastal region of Tanzania. Growing up in a family in simple circumstances, as the oldest daughter of four children, meant I could not have the chance to get the education I wished for. As the oldest girl there are expectations to earn money for the rest of the family, and also get married early in order not to be a burden for the parents, but I dreamt of going to University.
Already at elementary school I learnt to study hard and sometimes in difficult environments due to the low standard of living and our financial background as a family. With this it was sometimes difficult to pay my school fees at the right time. However, I learnt already as a young girl that I could only trust God and not man to help me see my dreams come true. I prayed and I believed Jesus would see me through, no matter what.
In 2005 I completed my ordinary level of education. I wanted so much to continue my studies but there were no means. I choose to stay at home for several years so as to wait for the door to open and be able to continue with my education. I got an opportunity to work with Pioneer Bible Translators (PBT) and the WORD FOR THE WORLD as a literacy worker. I enjoyed my job a lot but I also remembered my dream as a child to one day study at a university. So, in 2012 I got a chance to join the Ruaha Catholic University at Iringa (formerly known as Ruaha University College-RUCO, A Constituent College of St. Augustine University of Tanzania). There I completed a certificate of library and information science for one year. I continued for another two years and got my diploma this year (2015). Thanks to my experience I have got to know different kinds of people from various regions and countries. My studies have brought me from my childhood environment in Dar es Salaam, where my family lives, to far distant places in Tanzania as Morogoro, Arusha and Iringa.
My dream today is to continue with my degree at the University so that one day I can be a lecturer and teach. Moreover, I dream of helping orphans and widows, and especially help people with disability. In our society today they grew up without education and it seems like society has abandoned them.Every human is important to God and the people we sometimes refer to as disabled have something to teach us. I wish to encourage students, orphans, widows and outcasts to believe that God has a purpose for their lives no matter our background. In all circumstance God has been so good to me. He made a way for me and I will continue to believe in Him even today as I am still waiting for some dreams to come true. I believe they are going to be well as He guides me. So, I humbly give my special thanks to God who provides me with all required needs for my life.
