Diana Sosoka and Nadhra Mresa (All photos: Daniel Mbega of MaendeleoVijijini Blog)


Diana and her father, Sosoka Paul

Young Scientists Tanzania (YST) Executive Director, Dr Gozbert Kamugisha
 Dr Kamugisha with scholarships
Diana Sosoka, Nadhra Mresa and their teacher Mr Rashid Namila.

By Daniel Mbega of MaendeleoVijijini Blog
Dar es Salaam: THE
Karimjee Jivanjee Foundation (KJF) has rewarded Diana Sosoka and Nadhra Mresa
from Mtwara Girls Secondary School for being overall winners of the Young
Scientists Tanzania (YST) Awards in 2016.
Speaking at
a press event to send off the winners to Dublin, Ireland, the KJF Team said the
winners would receive scholarship from the foundation to study at any local
university when they complete their high school education.
They both
take a combination of Chemistry, Biology and Geography and aspire to be medical
doctors.
The students
are travelling to Dublin today to attend the BT Young Scientists and Technology
Exhibition, an Irish annual school students’ science competition, which aims at
encouraging interest in science in primary, and secondary schools.
Speaking at
the event, the students thanked their school teacher, Mr. Rashid Namila their
Biology teacher, whom they said has been a fundamental to their success.
They also
thanked the YST, led by Dr. Gozbrt Kamugisha, and the KJF for making their
dreams come true.
“Our
innovation was based on a locally made incubator to help the women around our
school to raise chicken after seeing them come to our school every day to seek
for leftovers sue to the poverty situation that has engulfed them,” they said,
adding that their technology has inspired various people around Mtwara and across
the country to go and learn.
Ms. Eliavera
Timoth, the Foundation’s Deputy Marketing Manager, speaking on behalf of KJF
Manager Ms. Devota Rubama, said KJF was a non-governmental organization that
was registered in 2009 and commenced its operation in 2010 with commitment to
support the Tanzanian community, specifically improving education sector.
“The
education sector is the core charity notably by providing scholarships to young
Tanzanians to be able to accomplish their studies at university level,” she was
quoted as saying, adding that the scholarships were provided to students under
the category of science in an effort to join hands with to government
initiatives, targeting on encouraging students to pursue science subjects.
“We are
eager to ecourage and support Tanzania young students to be able to develop
various innovative skills through science for the betterment of the nation,”
she said.
Speaking of
the YST scholarships, Ms. Eliavera said since 2012 the Foundation has provided
17 scholarships to students in the categories of overall winners and winners in
special school in need.
“Every year
KJF provide 4 schholarships to winner of YST awards to study at university
level. We have already provided scholarships to students from Kibosho Secondary
School (2012 – 3 scholarships overall winners); Ilongelo Secondary School of
Singida (2013 – 2 overall winners scholarships); and Fidel Castro –Pemba (2013 –
2 special school in need scholarships),” Ms. Eliavera said.
Other scholarships
were Lumumba Secondary School – Zanzibar (2014 – 2 overall winners); Ngongo
Secondary School – Lindi (2014 – 2 special school in need scholarships); Mzumbe
Secondary School – Morogoro (2015 – 2 overall winners); Nasa Secondary School –
Simiyu (2015 – 2 special school in need); Mtwara Girls (2016 – 2 overall
winners); and Binza Secondary School – Simiyu (2016 – 2 special school in need
scholarships).
However,
Ms. Eliavera said, KJF is planning to launch a dual Masters’ degree in African
Cinservation at the University of Glasgow, Scotland and Nelson Mandela
University – Afican Institution of Science and Technology in Arusha.
The programme,
according to her, is for two years and KJF will provide three scholarships for
students to study two terms at Glasgow University and eight terms at Nelson Mandela
University.
“The
Foundation has been giving scholarships to Doctors to graduate for a Masters’
degree programme in Paediatric Oncology at Muhimbili University of Health and
Alllied Sciences (Muhas), two doctors graduated in 2015 and one in 2016,” Ms.
Eliavera said.
The Honorary
Chairman of Karimjee Jivanjee Group of Companies in Tanzania, Hatim Karimjee
said: “We are very honoured to support the Young Scientists Tanzania Award
because we believe that education is very important to the future development
of Tanzania, and also because science education in particular can open
opportunities for higher level career development.”
KJF is the
primary vehicle for the Karimjee family’s charitable work.
The mission
of the Foundation is to invest in education as a means to enhance the economic
development of Tanzania.
At present,
many young Tanzanians continue to benefit from scholarships from KJF, which
enable them to follow their dreams and to make a greater contribution to
Tanzania as a result of their education.
In addition
to these scholarships, the Foundation also supports Read International and
others; works with Wonder Workshop and is working to boost the capacity for
management of pediatric oncology in Tanzania.
Hatim Karimjee
said, although KJF’s main focus at the moment is funding educational
institutions to improve education capacity, the Karimjee family established
several charitable trusts in the 1950’s before independence.
“We have
built many schools, hospitals, dispensaries, mosques and community centres. The
most famous of our donations is the Karimjee Hall. We built and donated this
building to the Dar es Salaam Municipal Council in 1957 as a Town Hall. It was
later adapted to become the official seat of Parliament. Independence was declared
in Karimjee Hall on 9th December 1961,” he said.
Other important
donations by the Karimjee family have been the Usagara Secondary School in
Tanga (Formerly Karimjee Secondary School), the Karimjee Clin in Mnazi Mmoja –
Dar es Salaam, the old Karimjee Hospital in Zanzibar and the recent donation of
100 desks to Mkwakwani Secondary School in Tanga, a donation that was made to
support the Government’s effort to offset the existing countrywide shortage of
desks in primary and secondary schools.
The Karimjee
Jivanjee Foundation is funded by donations from Toyota Tanzania, one of
Tanzania’s biggest and compliant taxpayers, which is celebrating its 50th
anniversary as the sole and authorized Toyota distributor in Tanzania since
1965.


(Prepared by www.maendeleovijijini.blogspot.com)