My name is Roselyne Swai. I am 50 years old and I am the founder of Rose Education Centre.
During my childhood, I suffered several almost unbearable personal setbacks. My legs are paralysed since I was two, because of a severe infection with measles and small pox and the following treatment of the disease. I could not walk anymore, but could only crawl. My parents tried their best by giving me exercises and taking me to different hospitals, but they never succeeded.
When l was eleven, my father got into a road accident and died on the spot. My mother was not capable of sending me to a boarding school so she tried to ask for assistance from the church which she was attending.
Fortunately, a European priest, who was a leader in that church, started supporting me. He volunteered to look for a school and to sponsor me.
I got help from different people and was able to get education. This changed my life completely and made me very grateful and happy. After completing my education, I had a dream. My dream was, to give children, especially orphans and poor children the chance to get a profound education, because education gives children the possibility, to take their life in their own hands.
l started to teach primary and secondary school pupils during the evening time. They paid me a little amount of money which l was saving to get a bigger capital.
The birth of Rose Education Centre
This work was very difficult due to lack of an area of teaching l decided to start teaching in a small room which l rented and named it Rose Education Centre.
Students studied in my small living room and sat on my small bed listening to me. l used pieces of boards and boxes to write on and students used the same boards and boxes to copy to their exercise books.
The number of students increased from three students who started, to eighteen within a period of three months. l went on lending textbooks from the regional library until l could manage to buy my own text books.
My vision of opening a real centre and school was still ringing in my mind day and night. l wanted to help children, children who are orphans, poor or disabled, by starting a centre – kindergarten and even a primary school. l thought a lot about how to acquire money, buying an area and building a centre and a school. To build a centre and a school requires millions of Tanzanian Shillings. I needed an area exceeding five hectares, so that l could built a children hostel, a playground and a space for building classrooms. l required beds, mattresses, kitchen utensils and equipment, shelves for storing books, classroom items like books, pens, games equipment, and many other things concerning the centre and school.
l stopped coaching students from different secondary and primary schools after teaching for five years, during the years 1997 – 2003, to move forward to the idea of opening a school.
This was the real beginning of Rose Education Centre.