Form 5 student Elias鈥檚 remote Maasai village has already started hailing him as the doctor. They hold faith in this promising young man and his determination to work in the medical field to help his own people.聽
鈥淢y aim of becoming a doctor is to help myself, to help with my society, to help Tanzania and to help the world,鈥� said Elias.
As a young boy he lived in a boma, a traditional Maasai mud dwelling in Ilkurot, an area outside of Arusha, with his father, mother, sisters and a brother. Growing up in that community, he became aware of the issues it faced.
鈥淚n my community there are so many challenges, mainly because of a lack of education, especially health education.鈥� he said. 鈥淪ometimes it is very hard to get the transport to go to town or the hospital, and many people especially in my village don鈥檛 know the importance of visiting the hospital or using modern drugs.鈥�
He began his studies at a local government school but his heart was set on getting the best education so he could one day provide medical services to his village. He applied to study at St Jude鈥檚 and, in Form 1, started his free, high-quality education at the school.
When he moved to Form 3 he wasn鈥檛 placed in Science because he hadn鈥檛 met the academic criteria. However, he shared with St Jude鈥檚 his great ambition to become a doctor and the strategies he had to help his community. He was allowed to move to Science and obtained Division 1, (the highest grade) in Physics, Chemistry and Biology, which is the combination he鈥檚 currently studying in Form 5.
鈥淚 hope society will be inspired by me and from there they can follow me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 see so many people who don鈥檛 get an education because of poverty.鈥�
Education, however, is currently lifting 1,852 impoverished students at St Jude鈥檚 out of poverty. Right now, Elias feels blessed that he is able to study the science subjects he is passionate about and is keeping an eye on his dreams.
Encouraging him along the way are the people in his village who see him as a sign of hope for the future and someone who will bring about meaningful change in health and education in their community.
鈥淚鈥檓 happy and appreciate so many people calling me Doctor, as they motivate me and I鈥檓 already doing a lot to help them by seeing them, doing work and getting them help when they need it,鈥� he said.
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