Just call her Madam Sophie

It was on a recent Friday afternoon when I went to Makumbusho Secondary School in Dar es Salaam to meet a teacher whom I had learnt about through a friend.

I had heard interesting stories about her and thought she would make a good read. Because we had never met, I had to call her to inform her I was already at the school so she could direct me to exactly where she was. As I stood in the school compound talking to her on phone, a short woman with clutches emerged from the staff room. 

She was shorter than I had imagined and I did not want to believe she was the one I had come to see. As she approached me, I noticed that she was a very beautiful young woman. She wore a black skirt with a black and white polka dots blouse.

She also wore a black and yellow beaded necklace, small earrings, a watch on the left hand and a bracelet on her right hand. The red lipstick that she wore, together with her brownish wig complemented her beauty.

I was amazed at how beautiful she looked and how she took good care of herself. She looked so decent, a real fashionista.

As we exchanged greetings, Sophia Mbeyela, a Form Four Kiswahili teacher, fondly called by her students Madam Sophie, made me forget how surprised I was at seeing her. I stopped focusing on her looks as I was now drawn by her charm. She is such a charming and very talkative woman that you would think we have known each other for so long.

“You are so charming,” I could not help but tell her, having never met a person so charming like her before. And she knows it very well for she told me, “That’s how I am.”

Madam Sophie had a lesson at that time and we agreed I would wait for her outside. Curious to see her teach and how the students behave towards her, I stood at the backside of the class outside and watched her. I was amazed at how the students love and respect her. 

When she entered the class, she was holding some books and chalks and this made me more curious. How does she write notes on the blackboard? I wondered. The Form Four B students stood up and greeted her with much respect when she entered. They were visibly happy to see her. 

A boy student quickly, without being asked, stood up after the teacher instructed them to sit down, stepped in front of the class and rubbed the blackboard. He then remained there to help write notes on the blackboard.  The students remained quiet and very attentive as madam Sophie taught. It was really very impressive. 

How she became a teacher

“It wasn’t easy for me to get where I am today due to my disability. But I was committed to achieve my dream and did not allow anything to stop me. I remember there were times when people would say nasty things about me and some were eager to know what my future would be like,” says Madam Sophie.

They thought she would not get anywhere but would lose hope along the way. “But the counseling I received from my parents and teachers in the schools that I went to helped me survive and finally achieve my dream. And here I’m, a teacher. I also do charity work,” says Madam Sophie.

Born in Njomber region, Madam Sophie went to Salvation Army school in Kurasini, Dar es Salaam for her primary education in 2003. She then joined Jangwani Girls Secondary School in 2007. In 2010 she was selected to join Dakawa High School in Morogoro and thereafter went to St John’s College (Dar es Salaam Campus) for her Bachelor of Education degree.

Madam Sophie loves broadcasting but she met a myriad of challenges in her endeavour to become a media practitioner after she finished her teaching studies. In 2014, she was posted to teach at a school in Lindi region. 

“Everyone at home and other relatives wondered how I would be able to teach. It was not easy for my mother too. I read through her eyes when I told her about the posting but I assured her everything would be fine,” she recalls. 

For her, teaching was not a problem but being posted to Lindi region was like making her climb over a big mountain that she couldn’t even dare climb. 

“I didn’t go there because the work environment was not friendly taking into consideration my physical condition. So I applied for a transfer to Dar es Salaam,” she says.

When she reported to work at Makumbusho Secondary School in 2014, students could not hide their surprise when they saw her. 

“Students from other classes came to the class where I went to teach and peeped through the windows to see how I was teaching. I was annoyed but not frustrated. I didn’t care about their reaction but what I cared most was to make students understand what I taught them,” she explains. 

She added: “What I told my students after introducing myself was that I was a teacher and that I could teach just like any other teacher. The only assistant I needed from them was to help me write on the blackboard. So in my class, students voluntarily take turns to write notes for me on the blackboard.” 

Also, there are times when her colleagues from her department volunteer to teach her class when the lesson needs a teacher to write on the blackboard. 

“So life is normal as the whole society at the school does care about me and of course they love me. I really appreciate their generosity, which to a great extent makes my life at the school easier. I thank the school administration for this. They also don’t make me teach classes which are upstairs. So Form Four students were shifted to the ground floor for easy access,” she adds.

The entrepreneur and motivator 

Madame Sophie ventured into small business after she finished college in 2013. It was not an easy journey though. She didn’t have much to start with except for a blender and a refrigerator. She started by making and selling juice at the roadside near her home in Ubungo near the famous Traffic Jam Pub. 

According to her, she did all the things by herself, including going to the market using daladala to buy the fruits for juice. She saved the money she earned and later opened a food and soft drinks joint, which she named ‘Wise Lady Fast Food’ at Ubungo. Through this business, Madam Sophie has created employment for three fellow youth who serve at the joint. 

Madam Sophie is proof of the saying that disability is not inability for she wakes up early in the morning to ensure that everything is okay at the fast food before she goes to work. “After work, I have to get back to the place to see if all went well while I was away,” she says.

Apart from passersby, most of her customers are University of Dar es Salaam students, who she says like the fast food’s Pilau the most. “When I go to serve my customers, most of them feel sorry for me and wonder why am I doing this while there are attendants to do the job. Some even prefer to serve themselves thinking that I might fall while serving them,” she says, adding: “I learned to do things for myself when I was in boarding school at Dakawa in Morogoro. Also, when I was doing my Bachelor’s I used to live alone at Buruguni.” She had to stay close to the school for easy access.

Madam Sophie involves herself in charity work too. She credits this to her mother who taught her to always give to the needy. She is normally invited to give motivational speeches to different women’s and orphans’ groups where she also mobilises donations to support the groups.

“I don’t have much but I do share what I have with those in need. It was my mother who taught me to give and not wait to be thanked. I thank her because she showed me the good way.” 

Last year, Madam Sophie organised an event dubbed ‘Madam Sophey Charity Movement’ which took place at the Salvation Army in Kurasini where she gave donations to about 350 disadvantaged children in Dar es Salaam. Madam Sophie mobilises donations from well-wishers through social media and through the radio. She usually calls upon people to donate whatever items they can afford to help those in need.

This is a project that Madam started last year after noticing there were many needy students at the school where she teaches. The school has students who are orphans who need support and she thought it wise to give them a helping hand.

Last month she also came up with a project to distribute O-level and A-level books to various secondary schools in Dar es Salaam which include Jangwani, Pugu, Tuliani, Makumbusho and Good Samaritan schools.

In August, she plans to send some donations to Uhuru Mchanganyiko Primary School in Dar es Salaam and invites donations from the public.

She wants  the campaign to be countrywide and pleads with Good Samaritans to support her efforts to rech out to the poor. 

 “I believe God has chosen me to motivate other people to contribute towards the welfare of disadvantaged people especially children and students. My call to other people is that let us do our part instead of waiting for support from abroad. We should not depend much on them. Together we can achieve this,” she says in a hopeful tone. 

Madam Sophie loves children and knows she will be a mother one day. When she marries, she hopes to have three or more children.

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