Princeton in Africa (PiAf) Fellow, Samantha Mendoza, reporting from Tanzania

Samantha Mendoza in Tanzania

We were delighted to hear from Samantha Mendoza, G’ 17, who sent us an update from Monduli, Tanzania, where she is currently on a Princeton in Africa Fellowship:

“I arrived in Tanzania about three weeks ago to work at Orkeeswa Secondary School, a community-based school in Orkeeswa Village that offers free education to over 200 students in an under-served, rural Maasai community. In rural Tanzania, only 7% of girls have access to secondary school, and less than 4% of Tanzanians have access to higher education. Many of our students come from the surrounding villages of Lashaine, Lendikinya, and Ngaresh, which means that their commute to school is often 2 hours by foot each day.

As the school’s Scholarship and Communications Coordinator, I document the experiences of our students through photography and interviews, and share updates with international sponsors who fund and support their education. I love this position because it allows me to create and maintain partnerships between our students and people across the world, empowering students to share their stories and allow others to understand what their lives are like and what their incredible accomplishments have been. It also allows me to get to know each student on an individual basis since I have so many in-depth conversations with them!”