DEF Scholar: Kwinoja (Kwin) Iddi Kapiteni

Age: 19
Gender: Female
Home country: Mbeya, Tanzania
Activities: Student-run business

Having identified a need for a greater focus on mental health issues in Africa, Kwin wants to study for a career in psychiatry.

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Kwinoja’s Dram:

A leader is an agent of positive change. Therefore anyone can be a leader as long as they spark positive change in their environment.

I consider myself to be a leader because I was able to improve my family’s income. I come from a small town in southern Tanzania where both my parents are farmers. As I was growing up, the income from our five hectare farmland contributed largely to my school fees. The fluctuating maize price in Tanzania meant that my family was unable to buy basic supplies and there was no money for my school fees.

I knew I could do something.

While I was out of school waiting for money for my school fees, I learned basic chicken farming from my parents. I convinced my parents to apply for a loan and I started a chicken farm by buying 200 chicks. I raised them myself in an unused car parking area. After five months, I began to sell the eggs and became the main supplier for eggs in my suburb. I sold eggs to businesses and hotels. This increased our family income and contributed to my school fees and I was able to return to school.

In the future, I plan to study medicine in college and to work as a doctor in Tanzania.

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