DEF Scholar: Oscar Mmari
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Home country: Moshi, Tanzania
Activities: Football, tennis, community service
Oscar plans to study geology and dreams of improving Africa through the conservation of natural resources.
Oscar’s Dream:
I consider myself lucky. I was born in an area where taking on a leadership role was not awfully difficult. Growing up in an area where the AIDS pandemic is rife gave me an opportunity to get involved. Before I came to African Leadership Academy I, together with a few friends, formed a small group called Me to You. The aim was to collect food and clothes from families in my community to distribute to children orphaned by AIDS in the local orphanages. We were not collecting these items from our own pockets but rather acting as intermediaries for the children who were unable to ask for them themselves. There are currently 20 members working for Me to You and we are serving three orphanages, visiting them after every fortnight. African Leadership Academy has broadened my horizons. Now, I am not only thinking about three orphanages, I want to go global.
I have been inspired by learning about a Bangladeshi economist called Mohammed Yunus who created a bank to provide cheap loans to millions of Bangladeshi. The impact has been miraculous. This is something that I dream of doing in my future – I want to help the poorest in my country to be able to access loans fulfill their dreams. I have lived in a poor community and know that the poor have dreams too and deserve the opportunity to make them come true.
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I’ve been in the beautiful city of Hong Kong for almost a week now. I am here to raise money for the Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF), my non-profit organization which is dedicated to supporting the empowerment of African youth.
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