High school student Rania Nasser launches educational and environmental foundation

Teenager Rania Nasser has in the last couple of years been at the forefront of many charitable causes in Tanzania including an exhibition which she aptly titled Watu wa Tanzania. In this interview she speaks to The Citizen on her the Foundation for the Educational and Environmental Advancement of Tanzanians (FEET)

 First of all congratulations for being such a decent and responsible Tanzanian that you thought of starting this NGO. What was your vision behind this initiative?

FEET’s goal is for young adults especially women to find their ‘FEET’ by helping them not drop out of school for various reasons.  As the old African proverb ‘If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educatea woman you educate a family (nation)’. Another goal is to empower local leaders and some local activists by enabling them to advocate for girl ‘s education and empowerment.

 What made you think of starting this NGO?

Rania Nasser:  My mum works full time and had to employ a nanny called Stella since my brother and I were born.  Stella is part of our family and she never got a chance to get an education even though she is very intelligent.  Her dreams were shattered when her alcoholic father would not support the family.  Being the eldest in the family she had to drop out of school and find a job and support her mother and siblings.  I found out very early on in life, that poverty is the greatest barrier to accessing  education – overcoming this barrier by investing in girls and women is a proven way of improving their lives.  Stella did eventually go to school because my mum made sure she completed her education but she still really loves us and continues to be part of our family.

 Specifically, how do use the money that is raised by the foundation?

Rania Nasser: We invest in first identifying girls that are very talented but their families lack the resources to pay for their education.  We ensure that these girls are given the access to funds to complete their education especially because they are already very eager and able students.  We also empower local leaders and local activists. These local activists speak out, locally, nationally; they campaign for girls’ education. We are also looking at investing in teachers’ training. In rural Tanzania, we have also started an initiative for the betterment of rural education by starting Libraries in remote villages, where quality of education is not good or schools are very few and unreachable.

 What can men do to encourage girls continue with their education?

Rania Nasser: I must say I have the best brother in the worldwho has always supported me since I was very young.  He was always smarter than me when we were young but he never made me feel like I was inferior.  He would accompany me to my tutoring sessions every day, even though he did not need extra tutoring.  He is an inspiration to me.  My father also always encourages me to achieve my dreams and is always extremely encouraging.  He was the first person to donate to this initiative of mine. 

 When did you start thinking of starting this NGO?

Rania Nasser: So I started speaking to my parents and friends about my idea when I was about 13 years old. When I attended the global encounters program two years ago, I was so amazed at the way the Aga Khan Development Network was investing in education in East Africa.  I really also got inspired my MalalaYousafzai who despite the threats on her life did not give up her dream of getting an education.

What is the link between Education and Environment?

Rania Nasser: The co founder of this NGO is my brother Alyanz  is extremely passionate about the environment.  He is currently in University and a couple of years ago started his own initiative and campaign against the use of plastic bags in Tanzania and produced his alternative bags with the brand name Envirobags.  There is a very close co-relation between education and the environment in especially two areas.  1.  From national governments to local community groups, women are vastly underrepresented in decision-making. This underrepresentation also extends to national environmental decision making, where women hold only 12% of top ministerial positions in environment-related sectors worldwide, as well as in district or community level committees, where women are generally underrepresented. 2.  Even though women have major roles using land for food security, income and household resources, women make up only 13.8% of landholders globally, often facing numerous legal and social barriers in all aspects of land rights.

 Lastly what would you like to tell your supporters/financiers?

Rania Nasser: Investment in girls/women’s education has proven to be a more effective way of controlling the size of population and improving children’s welfare. Women with higher levels of education tend to have fewer children, who are healthier with lower mortality rates. Additionally, women with education will also tend to afford to invest in their children’s education than less educated women. It is further argued that inequality in employment reduces the skill pool available to an economy, a factor that might increase cost of labor and reduce economic competitiveness. Girls must get equal opportunities to complete their education and pursue their dreams.  For further information, please visit my website www.feet.or.tz

Thank you so much for this opportunity to explain my initiative with your esteemed media organization.