I want to ask you three questions.
And finally, the most important question of all…
Here are my answers.
That last answer is the one that has stayed with me the most. Yes my dreams were possible, they truly were but what I have realised as I have gotten older is that dreams don’t build themselves.
For years and years, I believed my achievements were mine. I felt proud to have studied so hard, worked hard and made good decisions. All of that was true, but none of it was the beginning of my story, none of my hard work was the first step, the moment that actually got me to where I wanted to be. The beginning actually belonged to other people. My parents, my family, my community. They gave me the greatest gift a child can receive – an education – the true first step!
My parents invested in my education long before I understood what education could give me and their parents did the same for them, and theirs before them…. It took me a long time to realise that I had inherited something far more valuable than money, I inherited an opportunity.
Generation after generation, my family made sacrifices so that each child would begin life standing on stronger foundations than the last. By the time I arrived, that foundation was already there. I simply had to step onto it. There was never any question that I would go to school and get an education. I had teachers, books, transport, healthcare, a safe place to sleep and adults who expected me to learn. I never for once questioned whether dreaming about a future, any future was possible.
I didn’t realise it then, but all the conditions and infrastructure I needed to dream were built around me. The seed had been planted long before I knew it existed, and, as I grew older, my dreams got bigger and bigger as my community grew and my access to people, places and opportunities grew accordingly.
Now , of course I knew that my dreams weren’t guaranteed, but I knew they were possible, and that’s the point. When the time came to study, I could study. When the time came to save money, I could save. When opportunities appeared, I was prepared to take them.
My parents always used to say, “Education first. Then the rest.”
I have only recently understood how powerful those words were. Education wasn’t the dream. It was the doorway to every dream that followed.
Recently, I had the opportunity to pursue something I had worked towards for years, living abroad. It meant more exams, more studying and moments of genuine anxiety. There were times when I doubted my decisions and my dreams, but honestly beneath all of that fear was one simple truth, I had the opportunity and I cannot tell how much that kept me going and kept me positive. I would think, at least I am here, at least I can try, whether I succeed or fail, I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be here, to give it a go.
I am one of the lucky ones.
For millions of children in Lesotho, Uganda and Kenya, the first step simply just doesn’t exist. Not because they lack intelligence, not because they lack determination (trust me they do not lack that) and not because they don’t have dreams. But because the foundations that allow dreams to grow were never built.
A seed cannot flourish without healthy soil. It needs water, it needs sunlight, it needs someone willing to care for it before anyone can see what it might become.
That is exactly what Rafiki Thabo exists to do. The organisation isn’t simply funding education for these children, it is helping build the foundations that allow children to discover dreams they don’t even know they have yet.
A classroom, a library, a trained teacher, an IT centre, a safe place to learn. Children need these tools to even dare to dream. These are the first steps of building a dream.
One of Rafiki Thabo’s graduates, Ayeisa, recently approached the charity with the idea of establishing an IT suite for the Rafiki Thabo scholars he now mentors at a technical college in Nairobi. He knew that they needed access to IT facilities in order to successfully complete their vocational training courses and rather than asking Rafiki Thabo to provide each of them with a laptop, he suggested they fund an IT suite for those scholars – and other students at the college – to use. He also suggested two of the scholars studying ICT manage the suite, giving them additional skills and confidence which will serve them well when it comes to seeking employment once they have finished their studies.
Access to technology opens doors to education, employment and innovation that many of us take for granted. This is what investing in children and young people looks like, and it is so easy to think this is someone else’s problem, but every child or young person whose potential is lost represents something the whole world loses. When opportunity is inherited by only a few, we all lose.
I mean, who knows what potential lives within these children? There could be a doctor who had the potential to save millions, an engineer who solves a problem and improves the infrastructure of a whole country, a president who changes the course of a whole country taking it out of corruption and poverty and bringing forward a new and bright future for its people.
This is all possible with one single step. Something we can afford to do as a people, as a community.
Education first. Then the rest.
I now realise whole heartedly that dreams don’t build themselves. People do.
This is why Rafiki Thabo exists. By investing in education, we’re not just funding school places – we’re helping build the foundations that allow children to discover dreams they don’t even know they have yet.
Did you know? 85% of Rafiki Thabo graduates go on to support others in their families and communities, creating opportunities that reach far beyond themselves.
To find out more about the work we do, the impact education has and how you can get involved, click here to read more.
