I dare to make a big difference

For her patriotism, hard work and love of nature, she was among the 10 women who were recently recognised for their determination.

Mary Schola has a working experience in the world of tourism around Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar.

From a tender age, she loved nature and was fascinated by the natural world; something that has made her who she is today.

Once upon a time, she wanted to become a doctor but then, she changed her mind.  “After completing my A-level, I worked in a hospital lab. I thought of becoming a doctor but I was later discouraged by medical students who came in for fieldwork. I changed my mind and decided to do a degree in wildlife studies at the University of Dar es salaam in 1978-1980,” says the former lecturer of UDSM.

Wonderfully raised

Her upbringing has also influenced her status. Mary’s family helped each other and extended that virtue to people who surrounded them. Her father had the community at heart, while her mother excelled in her businesses.

“My father is a former teacher, but he worked in other fields. That was before he became a community development officer in Mwanza. During that time, my parents kept moving from region to region and so did I. I attended various schools but managed to complete my primary education in Mahenge , Morogoro,” she says. “I did my ordinary and advanced secondary education at Mwenge; by then it was still a new school and luckily I passed.”

Her spirit to work hard started when she was still young. During school breaks, she had a temporary job at Mwadui mining sites and saved the wages for her own use. After completing her first and second degrees, she went to Botswana where she headed the Division of Tourism education, Awareness and Ecotourism in the department of tourism. 

Home is best

16 years later, Mary came back to her home town in Bukoba, to make a difference.

“I decided to promote my region’s natural resources. Bukoba hosts one of the largest lakes in the world, but when MV Bukoba sank, people didn’t even know  where  Bukoba was. For this reason, I thought of doing something about it.”

For eight years, Mary was in Bukoba promoting local tourism.

“I pioneered a tour operator company on the western shores of lake Victoria in Bukoba;  built a small but modern heritage museum, a panoramic Lake Victoria beach camping site and a botanical garden for medicinal plants,” says Mary.   In 2005 when Mary was appointed by the Tanzania Tourist Board as a member, she used the opportunity to convince the board to commemorate World Tourism Day.  She went further to ensure that the first celebrations in Tanzania were held in Bukoba.

Mary is an active contributor to the development of tourism sector in and outside the country; currently she is a chairman of the Association of women in tourism Tanzania (AWOTTA)

My father, my hero

Sharing the secrets of her success, the mother of three says she owes it to her father who is her role model. 

“As a community development officer, my father worked with people, helping them out on issues that affected society. Growing up in such an environment had a huge impact on me,” explains Mary.  “I have 12 younger brothers and sisters who look up to me. I want them and everyone else to succeed.  That has been my mission: To make positive changes.”  Apart from tourism issues, Mary is involved in a variety of community development programmes including awareness, mobilising assistance for orphans and also offering support to polio victims through Bukoba Disabled Assistance Project (BUDAP).

Taking everything in her stride

Mary may be a strong woman, but she is only human. Her way up the ladder, hasn’t been without challenges. She manages them by maintaining a positive spirit.

 “Our community has little knowledge about tourism. We don’t value what we have, that’s why people who enjoy our resources are from abroad. Local tourists are still few. It was hard convincing the people of Bukoba to embrace tourism. Some even tried to discourage me that tourism initiatives  were only possible in places like Arusha and Zanzibar,” she explains. “We have a beautiful lake yet, we don’t see it as a tourism attraction while in other countries a pond can turn out to be a huge attraction.”

Other challenges are related to the systems in government.  “The cost of getting a licence is high; sometimes what we get does not equal the cost of the licence. Well, I don’t want to complain but it is unfair. Government knows this but it has failed to act.” Her plan for the future is to put her company on the international platform, “My network has expanded, and I want to grow more even if it means being a role model in tourism.”

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