Ask any educator why they chose their profession and they’ll tell you they either love to learn or love to teach. It is said education is improving the lives of others and leaving your community better than you found it. But how do you do this when you aren’t a teacher?

Youth Exchange and Study alumnus Catherine Sylvester Lukowa (YES 2009-2010, Tanzania, hosted by IRIS in Oakland, IA) has been doing just this, sharing information with students in the classroom, but she is not their teacher. With a Bachelor of Arts in Education that she received from Saint Augustine University of Tanzania, Catherine feels it is her duty within her profession to share the information she has gained through her own education.

“I feel good sharing knowledge with students, and everyone else I talk to,” Catherine said. “I want to reach as many people as possible through my work.”

Catherine’s work includes giving lessons to children in different schools about important topics they might not be learning, topics such as the importance of using proper toilets and having a clean environment, as well as diseases caused by bad hygiene and poorly kept environments. She recently completed a project on these topics at six primary schools in Iringa, Tanzania.

Using books about body hygiene and proper sanitation, Catherine went to each school and presented information about how having a clean body and a clean environment could improve both the students’ lives and the community overall. She spent both July and August completing these talks.

People in this area have been constructing proper latrines for community members, another project Catherine and a team of her friends facilitated. The need for latrines in rural Tanzania has long been present. A major issue for poorer communities over the past few years has been keeping environments clean & safe. In 2016, only 34 percent of the population across Tanzania had access to proper sanitation facilities.

Although Catherine volunteered to help facilitate the construction of these latrines for Iringa District, she noticed most of the children were left out of the awareness campaign for why the latrines were important for the community. After noticing this, Catherine began planning her visits to the schools to talk with children.

“I chose to focus on educating students because they are the best ambassadors of information,” Catherine said. “Students almost always go home and share what they learned at school with their friends and family, so our message will spread quickly by sharing it with students first.”

In the end, the project was a success. The team received positive feedback from students, teachers and even parents. Catherine said she was satisfied with how each presentation turned out.

“Everyone at the schools participated in this project and were happy in the end; it felt like we did something great,” Catherine said. “We’re planning to reach out to more students on these topics, in addition to going back and talking with past students about other issues that need awareness.”

Volunteers who helped with this project include:

• Erick Ndwela
• Asifiwe Christopher
• Anna Vedastor