From taught to teaching: A refugee student's dream of becoming a teacher

Hasina Mista sits quietly in her Grade 5 classroom at Mapendo Primary School in Nyarugusu Refugee Camp, carefully following her teacher’s lesson. Her eyes are fixed on the chalkboard, her mind already imagining a future where she stands in front of a class just like this one.

“My name is Hasina. I am 11 years old,” she says with a shy smile. “When I grow up, I want to be a teacher like my teachers, because I really love teaching.”

Hasina is a Congolese refugee whose life has been shaped by both loss and resilience. Her grandparents fled violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Tanzania in 1998 in search of safety. Nearly two decades later, Hasina was born in the camp, but tragedy struck when her mother passed away, leaving Hasina in the care of her maternal grandmother. While her father formed another family.

“I am the first and only child of my mother,” Hasina explains softly. “My father is at the camp too, but we do not meet regularly.”

Despite these hardships, Hasina shows up to school every day with determination. For her, education is not just about learning; it is a plan and promise of a better future.

In 2025, support through the Primary Impact Programme, made possible with contributions from partners including Transsion, brought meaningful improvements to education in Nduta and Nyarugusu refugee camps. Across the two camps, around 57,800 children—including over 28,000 girls—were enrolled in primary schools. With community mobilization efforts, more children, especially girls and previously out-of-school learners, were able to join and attend school regularly.

For students like Hasina, these changes are visible in everyday life. Classrooms are better equipped with learning materials, allowing lessons to be more engaging and easier to understand. With books in her hands and guidance from her teachers, Hasina is more confident in participating in class.

“I like coming to school because I learn, and I feel happy when I am here,” she says.

Equally important has been the strengthened support for teachers, who are all Congolese refugees. In 2025, 1,224 teachers and 244 non-teaching staff were supported with incentives, training, and instructional resources. This investment has improved teachers’ motivation and their ability to deliver learner-centred lessons.

For Hasina, this makes all the difference.

“Our teachers help us understand the subjects better,” she says. “They encourage us and give us time.”

Schools have also become safe spaces where children can heal and grow. Through psychosocial support, extra-curricular activities, and inclusive practices such as working together with children with disabilities in environmental clubs and sports, refugee students are more engaged, confident, and connected. Many learners, especially from the Congolese community, are now actively participating in class and school activities.

Following the closure of Nduta Camp in April 2026, Nyarugusu now remains the only refugee camp in Tanzania, making sustained investment in education even more critical. For thousands of children like Hasina, school continues to be a place where dreams are nurtured despite difficult circumstances.

George Ndaro, UNHCR Education Associate, reflects on the impact of this support, “Funding from partners like Transsion is transforming classrooms in the camp. It is not only improving access to education but also enhancing the quality of teaching and restoring hope for refugee children who have faced significant challenges.”

Despite the challenges that many children face in the camp, for Hasina, her future is clear. She dreams of becoming a teacher, not just for herself, but for others like her.

“I want to teach children like me to help them pursue their dreams and also support my grandmother,” she says confidently.

As of May 2026, Nyarugusu Camp is home to more than 105,000 refugees, of whom nearly 56.9 percent are children. This underscores the critical importance of sustained investment in education, as thousands of young lives like Hasina’s depend on access to safe, inclusive, and quality learning opportunities to rebuild their futures and realize their full potential.