Oloikishaan is 16 years old from Ngorongoro Conservation Area, in northern Tanzania, near Kilimanjaro.
Oloikishaan struggled to complete primary school due to many factors that make access to education extremely difficult, which is why he only finished in 2024.
It took him four hours to get to and from school every day, sometimes longer due to the condition of the tracks. Living in a very poor, remote community, Oloikishaan couldn’t afford books and so he had to borrow books from his friends to do his schoolwork.
His home doesn’t have enough water and there is not enough food for their daily meals. With no electricity in his home, it was impossible for him to study in the evenings when it got dark.
When Oloikishaan heard that the Sisters of Mary were coming to his region and there was a school he could attend for free, with everything provided, he borrowed enough money for a dala dala (a local bus) to travel to meet them. Oloikishaan travelled for six hours to meet the Sisters and ask for a place at Dodoma Boystown.
Oloikishaan, together with nearly 200 other young boys, arrived in Dodoma Boystown in January 2025.
He now has a safe place to sleep, three meals a day and looks forward to a good education which will help him find a good job and support his family when he leaves school. The experience has already been life changing for him, transforming his education journey.
He now only has a short walk from his dormitory to classes, he enjoys time with his classmates playing football in their free time, and he doesn’t have to worry about not receiving an education anymore.
Oloikishaan is focusing on reading to improve his reading comprehension. He now has as many books as he needs to read and complete his schoolwork.
And now he has electricity to help him study when it gets dark!