Hello everyone on this platform. Without wasting your time let me tell you my story. The reason I want to tell you, my story for free: is because I think my story can be help to someone who's planning to leave his/ her country for green pastures abroad.
I know a lot of African youngsters are ready to risk everything including their lives for chance to get into any European countries or Northern America. I don't blame them because twenty years ago I was just like them. And I understand, it is not easy to live in corrupt and non democratic countries. Anyway let us leave the discussion of democratic and non democratic to the scholars.
I am here to tell my story. First let me introduce myself briefly. I was born in western Tanzania in kagera regional in Ngara district. My parents had twelve children. I am eleveth birth place. My dad was elementary teacher and my mother was a nurse by professional. I say by profession because after she married to my dad, she had to quit, her job, so she can take care of us and working in farm, in order to make sure we had enough to eat. To make long story short. My dad retired from teaching in 1984.
By that time my ten older siblings had done with schooling. My only young sister and I were only ones in school. My young sister was in pre preshool and I was in first grade. I completed standard seven in 1992. Because my dad was retired teacher, his pension wa Tsh 500 a month. And because I wasn't selected to continue with secondary school. My dad did not bother to send me to private secondary school, as he always did to some of my older siblings whom were not selected to continue to the government's secondary schools.
So after I graduated primary school. I stayed home helping taking care of cattles and working in our farms. In 1993 one of my oldest brothers came to the village to visit. My dad was in a process of building rental house in the town. So when my older brother was leaving to go back to his business in kahama town. My dad asked him to go with me to buy aliminium sheets for the roof of his rental house that he was constructing ni the town.
So when my brother and I got to Kahama, my brother try to sale the goods he wa selling. Unfortunately two weeks went by without finding any customer. And he was running out of money, to pay for guests house and food while we were looking for customers for his goods.
Third week went by. So he started spending the money dad had given him to buy aliminium sheets and find transport for me to transport the aluminum sheets with me back to my dad. The fourth week, we finally got customer, he did not pay the full price my brother was asking, because my brother was so Disparity to get rid of his goods, he sold all at short price. The money to buy aliminium sheets was being used.
So my brother told me he need to do quick business so he can recover all the money we spent for whole month while we were looking for customers. So my brother and I dicided to do grain business. We went in shinyanga regional rural area to buy maize grains and transport them to the big cities, mainly to shinyanganga city and Tabora. We did that business for one year or so. We didn't not make any significant profit.
Finally, we realized the grain business wasn't taking us anywhere. We went back to the village without aliminium and money. My dad was very disappointed. So I went back to my duty of waking in farm and looking after cattles. I didn't like working in farm that much. In my native village work in farm or looking after cows were the only work available. I did it for another year. In 1995 my old sister who was working in Dar as accountant at Dar hobour, came to the village to visit us.
So when she was about to go back to Dar my mother ask her to go with me to find any school for me in Dar. I was so excited to come to the big city. My sister agreed and soon enough I was in Dar to stay for a while. My sister registered me for adult secondary school. I was attending my class in evening. In the morning before I went to school, I had to hustle. Life in Dar it wasn't easy. Sometimes I was sent home for failing to pay school fees. Evrytime I thought about going back to the village, I said to myself " you better do all you have to do to stay in school, otherwise you going to be a cow boy again for life" so I stayed in school. Once my sister got her salary would never let her sleep until she paid my school fees. Uniforms and books were within my means. The money I was making through my vegetable shop was enough to take care of miscellaneous expenses. In 1999 I completed secondary school. I decided to go back to my village while I was waiting for form four final exam results. When the result came out, my sister in Dar informed us about the results, I got division three, I don't remember how many points. She told my dad that I should came back to Dar, to get read for any post. Luckly I was selected to join teaching college somewhere in kigoma regional. In early 2000 my sister who was in the US graduated and she invited three people to attend her graduation ceremony in Boston Massachusetts. I was one of those three people who got invited. I was supposed to report to the teachers' college few weeks before my USA visa interview. So I say to myself that I am not going to report there until I have done the interview. Instead of going to teaching college, I stayed in Dar waiting for the date of the interview. The date came and I went to do the interview. Luckily enough I was granted visiting visa for one year. And that was the beginning of new life . I arrived in the united states of America in winter it was very cold. For the first time I saw a snow. American did not match the image that I had in my mind before came here. Before I thought America was second to heaven. I did not know that there are homeless in the U.S. I saw a lot homeless people on may way to my sister's house I saw homeless people on main street down town Lynn. Asked my sister how can anyone be homeless in the richest country in the world. My sister said this is a land of milk and honey for the people who work hard and pray hard. Then she quoted verses from the Bible. I don't Remember the verses, but I remember very well whatever she said did not convince me to belive that what she said was the reason that cause people to be homeless in America. We got to my sister's house it was around 5pm but outside looked like 9pm. It was very freezing and dark outside. Once we enter the house it was very warm . Everyone took off jacket. I kept my suit on, I started sweating. The house was crowded because she invited few of her friends to come see her brother. I felt like I was super star on that day. All of her friends were eager to ask me various questions about Tanzania. And I did not mind to tell them anything they wanted to know. Within three months of my arrival I met a beautiful girl from Zimbabwe: she became my wife in fourth of my staying in the USA. Then the process of changing the status of my visiting visa to resident started immediately after we married at city hall. To be continued...
