Welcome to the Team: Nenelwa

Born in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, and raised in Western, Massachusetts, my bi cultural upbringing often challenged my ideas of female agency and power, since I never fit into either “mold”. While I grew up in the United States, the women that played an integral role in my life were part of the Tanzanian diaspora that settled in rural-suburbia, and the man that was the loudest feminist I know, was my father. It is only now, as a graduate scholar pursuing a Master’s Degree in International Education with a focus on Decolonizing Development in Sub-Saharan Africa at The George Washington University, that my experiences are being revisited, questioned and used in my research. My academic interests are rooted in pan-africanism, cultural preservation, sustainable entrepreneurship, african feminism and alternative schooling. I am so grateful to be a member of the Memunatu team to gain more insight on the challenges and opportunities surrounding girls education on the African continent, while also fine-tuning my personal and professional lens.