Regina Ngirumwa was born into a Maasai family in Sakala village, Loliondo, Ngorongoro District. From an early age, she faced numerous challenges that threatened her educational aspirations.
Despite her family’s financial difficulties and cultural norms that often prioritised boys’ education over girls’, Regina remained determined to pursue higher education and use it to uplift her family and community.
In her community, boys were more likely to be given opportunities to attend school, while girls were often viewed as a source of wealth, with some being married off at a young age in exchange for cattle. These practices threatened to put an end to Regina’s dreams of pursuing an education.
After completing primary school with good grades, Regina faced another major obstacle: her family’s inability to afford her secondary education. With few alternatives available, early marriage appeared to be the only path left for her. However, determined not to give up on her dreams, Regina sought help from the Pastoral Women’s Council (PWC) office in Loliondo. After sharing her circumstances and aspirations with the PWC Director, she received educational sponsorship from PWC, which supported her through secondary school and eventually university, where she pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Education.
Upon graduation, Regina joined PWC as a teacher at Emanyata Secondary School, a community school supported by the organisation. This provided her with an opportunity to give back to her community by contributing to the education of the next generation.
A few years later, Regina founded a Community-Based Organisation (CBO) known as Genesis Community Foundation, with a mission to empower Maasai women and children through education. With support from PWC, she established Genesis Pre-Primary and Primary School in Soitsambu village.
The school provides English-medium pre-primary and primary education to Maasai children aged 4–10. As the first private school in the area to offer education in English, Genesis has created new learning opportunities for children in the community. Today, the school has enrolled more than 250 students, all from the Maasai community, giving Regina another opportunity to contribute to her community’s development.
“It is true that education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world. It changed my world,
and now I am using it to change the world of every Maasai child at Genesis.”
Regina’s journey is a testament to her determination and the transformative power of education. She expresses her heartfelt gratitude to PWC for the support that made her educational journey possible and enabled her to pursue her dream of giving back to her community.
Today, Regina’s story continues to inspire young girls and women in her community. Having once received an opportunity to pursue her own education, she is now creating opportunities for hundreds of Maasai children, demonstrating how investing in one girl’s education can have a lasting impact across generations.