Stories Sustain Us #39 – Transforming Lives: Empowering Women in Rural Tanzania

Summary
In this conversation, Brenda Geofrey shares her inspiring journey from growing up in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to becoming a leader in women's empowerment through her work with Barefoot College in Zanzibar. She discusses her early life, the importance of gender equity instilled by her parents, and her transition into non-profit work. Brenda highlights the challenges faced by women in rural communities and the transformative programs offered by Barefoot College, which focus on vocational training and life skills to empower women and improve their lives. In this conversation, Brenda Geofrey discusses her work in empowering rural women in Zanzibar through solar training and other educational programs. She shares success stories of women who have transformed their communities by becoming solar engineers and role models. The conversation also highlights innovative solutions like beekeeping and regenerative agriculture to combat climate change and improve livelihoods. Brenda emphasizes the importance of supporting rural women and her vision for a future where they are actively involved in decision-making and community development.

About the Guest
Brenda Geofrey currently serves as the Country Director for Barefoot College International (BCI) Zanzibar, Tanzania. Under her visionary leadership, BCZI empowers rural women in Zanzibar and across East Africa through transformative programs in solar engineering and in beekeeping, sewing, menstrual health hygiene, regenerative agriculture and life-skills training. 

Show Notes
Brenda Geofrey LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenda-geofrey-90533974/
Barefoot College Zanzibar: https://barefootcollege-zanzibar.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SustainableZanzibar/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barefootcollegezanzibar/

Takeaways
•Brenda's passion lies in empowering women and girls.
•Barefoot College focuses on training women who have never been to school.
•The programs include solar energy, beekeeping, and tailoring.
•Women in rural areas often lack access to education and resources.
•Brenda emphasizes the importance of community engagement and education.
•The ENRICHE program helps women develop leadership skills.
•Brenda's work has a significant impact on the lives of women in Zanzibar.
•The journey of women from rural areas to becoming solar engineers is transformative. Women in rural areas lack access to education and opportunities.
•Solar training empowers women to electrify their communities.
•Success stories illustrate the transformative impact of training.
•Beekeeping offers sustainable income and environmental benefits.
•Regenerative agriculture helps combat climate change effects.
•Community involvement is crucial for program success.
•Women become role models for future generations.
•Training programs adapt to local needs and challenges.
•Support from NGOs can amplify impact in rural areas.
•Education leads to greater confidence and decision-maki

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Transcript

Steven 
When women in rural communities are denied access to education and opportunity, the entire community suffers. But when just one woman is trained to harness the power of the sun, something transformative happens. Homes are lit, children can study after dark, income is generated and hope begins to spread. This is more than just a story about solar panels. It's a story about empowerment, resilience and redefining what's possible.

Hey everybody, I'm Steven Schauer and welcome to Stories Sustain Us, where we explore the extraordinary journeys of people working to build a more just and sustainable world. In today's episode, I sit down with Brenda Geofrey, the dynamic country director of Barefoot College International in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Brenda has devoted her life to empowering women and girls, especially those who have been overlooked or excluded by traditional systems.

We'll talk about how she helps women become solar engineers, master beekeeping, learn tailoring, and embrace regenerative agriculture, all without requiring formal education. We'll also hear about the ENRICHE program, which helps rural women develop leadership skills, and how Brenda's work is changing lives across East Africa. Brenda brings over nine years of experience in project management, evaluation, and grassroots development.

raised in a family that championed gender equality, she always believed in the potential of women to lead. Her work spans from uplifting teenage mothers in Tanzania's Morogoro region to providing life-changing eye care services in Zanzibar. She's a proud member of the African Women Leaders Network, a US Academy of Women Entrepreneurs alum, and currently sharpening her leadership skills at the prestigious Uongozi Institute. Today's conversation is a powerful reminder

that with the right support and training, women who have never set foot in a classroom can light up their villages, literally and figuratively, and become role models for generations to come. So get ready to be inspired as we learn how Brenda is helping women electrify their homes and their futures here on Stories Sustain Us, where we are inspiring action through the power of storytelling.

Steven 
Brenda, hi, welcome to Stories Sustain Us. Thank you for joining me.

Brenda Geofrey
Hi, Steven. Thank you for inviting us.

Steven 
How are you doing? I'm

so honored to have you on the show. I've been excited and looking forward to this conversation for a few weeks now, ever since we've kind of connected on email. So thank you so much for accepting the invitation and joining me today. tell everybody where you are. I'm in Seattle recording this, and you're on the other side of planet. Let everybody know where you're from today.

Brenda Geofrey 
Thank you very much, Steven. I am speaking from Zanzibar, Tanzania, on the beautiful island here.

Steven 
Wonderful.

And that's off the eastern coast of Africa for those who may not be familiar with their world maps. So thank you so much, Brenda, for being here. And so let's jump into your story before we get to all of the great work that you're doing with Barefoot College, which I can't wait to hear about. But I want to learn about you. So tell me a little bit about you. Where were you born and what's your life journey like?

Brenda Geofrey 
So I was born a lot of years ago in Dar es Slam, Tanzania. Dar es Slam is located in the mainland. So in Tanzania we have mainland and then we have island which involves two islands. But I was born in mainland in Dar es Slam. That's where I grew up and I went to school in Dar es Slam but for university I went to

like in the regions not because Dar es Salaam is more like a commercial town so I went in the region so I studied my first degree at Mzumba University in Morogoro and then after my degree I started looking for jobs because that's how it is but again I'm a second born in my family out of four girls

So you could imagine why I love issues of women and girls and all that because at home we were there was no like you should do this because you're a lady. No, every work is for women and girls and everybody. That's how my parents used to like raise us. So if you're cleaning the cars, you can go and clean as well. If it's cleaning the house, it's.

Steven 
Okay.

Brenda Geofrey 
Like everything, if it's studies, like everything, it was not done because you're just a woman or you're not a girl. No, gender was nothing that didn't change anything in my parents' mind. So I grew up in Da. I started my first work after graduation in mainland as well. And I was actually working with profit organization back then. But I started getting into this.

we made leadership trainings and when i was there i had mentors that we we of course we had given but as as as i was getting mentored and a lot you have a lot of coaches and a lot of mentors who help you grow as a young leader so when i was i was like maybe i need to

like switch something in my life, maybe I need to change in terms of career wise. And then on my leave, I would do some of the voluntary work in the region that I had my first degree. So I would go there because there was issues relating to cholera outbreak. And one of the reason was because people didn't use toilets.

at all. in my leave as a volunteer I would go to these villages, teach them importance of using toilets, the importance of how safe it is to use toilets, cholera, the symptoms and the preventive measures, just to educate them. So I came up with new interests. I wanted to work with non-profit organization.

and I started looking for those kind of jobs. So I didn't have experience in project management or evaluation, but I started having short courses in program monitoring and evaluation. That's when I got a new interest and say, okay, I have to go into this. So at the beginning I was doing with other organization and again, it was more about young girls.

who got pregnant and then they drop out of school. So my task was to go see these girls, try to change their minds. They are already frustrated because again, they drop out of school, their friends are still in school and all that, and they're also pregnant. Others, they even already gave birth.

Steven 
Okay.

Brenda Geofrey 
They don't have income, they don't have education. So we first train them to like, okay, you need to change your mindset. And then the program also connect them with different vocational trainings. So if it's a carpentry, if it's a mechanic, if it's a repairing of AC and all those. So we make sure that we connect them with vocational centers so they could employ themselves. Yeah, so that was mostly, but again,

Steven
Nice, nice, nice.

Brenda Geofrey 
I was working with one of the Danish company where they would put camps in Zanzibar. That's when I started coming to Zanzibar and we would check people's eyes and offer them free glasses. But as well, if they have big issues, as far as their eyes is concerned, we take them to the hospital. So I saw that, okay, maybe working with non-profit is really nice because I feel like

Steven 
Okay.

Brenda Geofrey
I'm using my knowledge to change other people's lives, which is something that I was happy to do that. So when I saw opportunity at Barefoot in Zanzibar, I said, why not? Let me go try. Actually, my parents was a bit like, you're going to work in Zanzibar. Mind you, grew up in mainland. Our home is in Dar es Salaam, which is the capital city, or say commercial city in Tanzania.

Steven 
Yeah.

Brenda Geofrey 
and then I'm going to Zanzibar. So most of people leave Zanzibar to go to mainland to look for jobs. And for me, was actually vice versa.

Steven 
Yeah, and you're

going back. Yeah. Yeah. Let me ask you a question. go ahead. No, please go ahead.

Brenda Geofrey 
Yeah, and again, yes.

Yeah, and again, most of the people coming to Zanzibar are coming to work in hotels. But for me, it was an NGO. So I had to use a lot of time to convince my parents that I'm going to work here, you know. But again, I wanted to move out of Dar es Salaam because Dar es Salaam, as I mentioned, is a commercial town. It's too much traffic whenever you go to work. So I was spending a lot of time on the road. said, I want to move out of Dar. So that's when I made a decision. So I...

Steven 
Mmm.

Brenda Geofrey 
came to Zanzibar officially in 2019.

Steven 
Okay. Can I take you back in time to your childhood a little bit and then we'll catch up to 2019 when you start in Zanzibar at the Barefoot College NGO, but you said something earlier about your childhood. You're the second of four girls and your parents treated you all with...

Brenda Geofrey 
Yeah.

Steven 
equity, gender equity, you weren't treated differently because you were a girl. Is that how your parents treated you? Is that the norm for your community or is there generally some difference between the way boys and girls are raised in your community so that your parents were doing something unique or was that kind of how it was in the community you grew up in?

Brenda Geofrey 
I'll say it differs. I grew up in Daa. Daa, as I mentioned earlier, is a town. It's more like a town area. But if you go to rural areas, it's not the same. In rural areas, women are more raised to be mothers, know, nurse kids, take care of people who are sick at home.

Steven 
Okay.

Right. Right.

Okay?

Brenda Geofrey 
those are the kind of work that a woman should do most of the time. But when you come to town, there are still people in town which are practicing things happening in rural areas, but at least if you have parents who are very understanding or parents who have a bit of exposure, they will help you. if it's I'll say it depends on certain cultures, but most of the time in rural areas,

it's very rare to see a woman go to school because again the environment is not even good for you walk five kilometers seven kilometers to just reach the school so sometimes you say okay let me just sit home and relax and again better these days but back in the days the priority was mostly for men to go to school because relatives will say you'll get married soon you'll move out outside home so

Why would we train you? Why should we train you while you are going to move out? You're going to get married in another clan so you'll develop another clan instead of developing us, you know? So these kind of cases most of the time, yeah.

Steven 
Sure sure.

Yeah, thank you for helping put some context around that so that the audience who might not be familiar can understand the circumstances a little bit better and that the opportunities that you had to go and get an education and go to university and really changed your life. Not everyone has those opportunities, particularly in those rural areas. So that helps set the.

set the stage and understanding for the important work that you're doing now with Barefoot College. it sounds like you had this desire to give back and support others for much of your life with all of the work that you did, working with young mothers and helping folks with their eyesight and their vision. And now what you're doing with

you know, the the barefoot college. Is that something that was instilled in you by your parents as well or or what, know, what kind of happened in your life that you realized, you know, rather than going and just going down a business path or making money or, you know, growing that direction, you you took a career path that you're giving back and you're and you're supporting others. How did that come to be for you? Was that?

again, from your childhood or just kind of your natural progression in your career.

Brenda Geofrey
think it's just, I think I felt happy doing something and then you see the impact of it just there. You know, like you train a person about toilets. Imagine training an older woman about important of having toilet and the lady asked me, why do we need toilets? I'm 50 years old.

I've never suffered from Corella. So why would I have a toilet today? Since I was growing up, since I was in my parents' house, now I'm married. We never had toilet. How would you convince this 50-year-old person that the toilet is important, while she has never used one for 50 years of her life? And then you tell her, and then she go and be the changemaker. She go and tell other people in her community that toilet is very important.

Steven 
Yeah.

Brenda Geofrey
I was like, okay, this is the job that I want to do. Like you actually see, you see the actual impact in the community at hand. And I think that's more like my passion. That's more like what makes me happy. Yeah.

Steven 
Yeah.

Yeah, I love that story. I thank you for kind of describing it in such a real life way, the impact that you're having, that you can help one person and then that one person then continues to help others in their community and then others and others. And all started with your spark of passion and your desire to help others. That's such a powerful story. So thank you for sharing that.

That makes me happy. That's wonderful. That's what I love to capture on this show, speaking with people like you and the joy you get from helping others. But the real difference that you're making is beautiful to me. So thank you for that. you know, do you, your sisters, your three other sisters, did they all, you know,

Brenda Geofrey
Thank you.

Thank you.

Steven 
go off in different directions as well? are you the only one of your family kind of doing the NGO work or is it something that is others in your family are also doing similar work as well?

Brenda Geofrey 
So far I'm the only one in the non-profit sector. But my other sisters are still in school, so I'm not sure what their career path or what they want to do. But my sister is a teacher and the one after me works with the government as well. So not in non-profit sector at all.

Steven 
Okay.

Sure.

Sure, still teaching and government work is still service. So they're still helping others. So that seems to be a wonderful trait running through your family. So tell me a bit, Brenda, for educate me and those who are listening or watching, tell me a little bit about the island, about...

Brenda Geofrey 
Yeah.

Thank you.

Steven 
Tanzania, you said, you know, most people leave the island to go to the mainland to go to work and you kind of, you know, did the opposite to go out and work out there and help others. It sounds like it's a resort island as well. There's some, there's some industry there for tourism and whatnot, but what, what is life like on the island for, you know, an average resident?

Brenda Geofrey 
So, as I you know, if you are tourist and you visit Zanzibar, you will see beautiful hotels, you will see all the fancy things, because you are tourist and they will take you to nice places. But again, there are still people who are struggling for even food at the end of the day. Yeah. Yes. So, you have...

Steven
Right. Right.

Brenda Geofrey 
you have every kind of income. So you have those ones who have income and even extra and then you have those ones that they have to wake up, find food for the day and go back to sleep and then tomorrow again wake up early, go find another meal for the day. Yeah, if they stay home, if they are sick, the family is not eating. You know, we have those kind of people as well. Yeah. So in twenty

Steven 
Yeah, so there's...

Brenda Geofrey 
Should I cross proceed? Yeah. In 2019, it's when I saw a post, it was actually a position in Zanzibar called Enrich Coordinator at Barefoot College. So Enrich is more like life skills training because

Steven 
Yeah, please, please. Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt.

Brenda Geofrey 
I'm going into the next question slowly. Yeah. Yes. So I saw this post. Enrich good nature and I was looking at the description so I've already started learning this short course on project management and then I saw this was like I'm fit. I fit here. Let me apply.

Steven 
Yeah, no, yeah, good. That's you're doing great. Yeah. Yeah, please tell me. me more about the about yours.

Brenda Geofrey 
So I applied, was called for the first interview, second interview, and the third one I got it. So the post was actually training because Barefoot Coal Zanzibar, we work with women who have never been to school. Most of them, they don't know how to read or write. And most of the women, I'll say 100 % of the women that we work with are from the rural communities.

So we take them to our center. We have a center in the northern part of the island. We train them. We have different programs. We have solar energy. We have beekeeping. We have tailoring. We have regenerative agriculture. And then you have what is called ENRIGE, all life schools training. So ENRIGE, it's a core curriculum. Whether you come to ENSOLAR, beekeeping, any program, you will have also to be trained on ENRIGE.

Steven 
through that program,

Brenda Geofrey 
yes.

And why was it developed? was developed because, as I mentioned earlier, we are working with women who have never been to school. So they don't know a lot of things which surround them. They don't know how even to make decisions. They don't know about their health. They don't know about their rights. So we introduced this program specifically for women to be able to be leaders when they go back to their communities. So for me, that was the best

moment of my life. With all going on, but being a trainer in that class was the best moment ever. Until today, I have another position, but I still attend those classes and I'm still a trainer. One of the reasons is because within REACH, the way it's designed,

to even if I'm a trainer, I'm also a trainee because I'm also learning from women. And again, most of the rural women, they don't have a room to share about their lives. They don't have a room to share about what they are struggling with.

Because in the villages, they will wake up going to the farm, washing dishes, washing clothes, cooking, and then they go to sleep. You know, don't have anybody you talk to. don't have those kind of people. So when they come to the center, for them it's more like a vacation because they have never even relaxed like that. And some of our programs are residential, so they sleep at the center.

Steven 
Yeah, wow.

Brenda Geofrey 
One thing, so the program is designed with curriculum like topics like self-awareness and aspiration. You find that maybe in the class if there's a lot of people, maximum there 12 people. You give them an assignment and you say come present because most of them they don't know how to read and write so they will draw.

And in the pictures they come present to us. Let's say most of the time we give them assignments like you need to think, you know, what do you aspire in the next five years or in the next three years? You don't have to write. You just draw any picture that you yourself you understand and come with your paper in front of us to present.

Mind you, there only 12 people in the class. And mamas will be hiding their faces like this with the paper. And sometimes they are shaking. You can see it in their hand. Why? It's because they never stood in front of anybody and speak before.

Steven 
Yeah, they were never given that chance, yeah.

Brenda Geofrey 
Yeah, they never given those chance. So now that you are giving this chance and again, these women are older, some are 40, some are 50, like they're older women. So it's really empowering after a few months, you see this same mother that was very shaky with the paper, challenge even you. So for me, that's one of the best part of my work that I really love.

So we have curriculum like self awareness and aspiration. We want them to know the gender roles. We want them to aspire more. Like they can be leaders as well. They can be somebody because they will live, let's say, at the center as solar engineers. You were just a mother at home. Now you are a solar engineer. How should a solar engineer even act? We train them.

But again, aspiration, which is very important. And this lesson, we always do it at the beginning and at the end when they're about to leave. So you'll find that in the beginning, they always mention, I want to own, let's say, a cow. I want to build my mother a house. Those are the aspirations that they had. But in the last session, when you repeat the same thing, it's completely new words. It's not material things. It's more like, I want to empower more women. I want to be a leader.

You know, I want to be a change maker. So this is really changed. Again, we have issues like health, about their health, how, let's say, body organs. Because, for example, for me, I know body organs because I went to school, I learned biology, and now I know the function. But for a person who didn't go to school, it's very rare to find that they know the functions of their body organs. So we always play games.

Steven 
That's incredible.

Sure.

Brenda Geofrey 
and give women body, know, and say what kind of body, body with this, what kind of organ disease and what kind of the function does it have. everybody, but again, we invite outsiders. So sometimes we invite a medical doctor because women have a lot of questions as long as, for example, when we are talking about menstruation or when you are talking about reproductive health.

contested methods they always have a lot of questions so it's very important for us to invite even outside that therefore causes that it's center which is the across east africa so sometimes we also invite people from we would take trainees from outside the country last year we had trained women from somalia and for example so when they came

and they always come with a translator. ask them, what kind of health problem do you have most of the time in Somaliland? So for example, Zanzibar, I would say malaria and cholera, those are very common. So the doctor will talk about malaria, the doctor will talk about cholera. For Somaliland, the problem was FGM, female genital mutilation. It's like, yeah, so.

Steven 
wow.

Yeah, wow.

Brenda Geofrey 
When we

call in the doctor, the doctor was explaining. So there are some women who say, no, we came here to be solar engineers, not for you to brainwash us with FGM. It's not good. It's not good. So there are some people, again, who would want to listen and to know what's happening. And so those people who would say, no, we don't want to listen to you. Yeah. So that's what.

Steven 
Yeah, it's a big culture

change.

Brenda Geofrey 
There are those

who are ready to change and then there are those ones who it takes time for them to change. It's not like they don't want to change, but it takes time for them to change. Yeah. So again, we teach them about nutrition, importance of having proper meals. A lot of people currently are eating a lot of carbs because again, it's cheaper, it's easy to get the carbs, but we would give them like fake plates and say, draw a food that

Steven 
Sure, change is hard. Yeah, you know, and these...

Brenda Geofrey 
you really want to see in your plate. And then for the rest of the month that you are here at the center, we want you to eat this, what you drew here. So we are training them to be again responsible for everything they are doing in their lives. We also have rights, responsibilities. We teach them rights, like what are the women rights? What are the children rights? You know, we use pictures, we use a lot of pictures.

Steven 
It's such a...

Brenda Geofrey 
let's say a girl washing dishes, a boy saying bye, he's going to school. And we ask mamas, is this happening to your community? Are you sending only your male kid to school and you let the female stay home to help you with house chores? So we discuss. There are women who say yes, my husband doesn't want that. There are women who say no, I send all my kids to school. So we discuss. And this is the...

The good thing about the project is like we don't force them to change. It's them who decide that this is right or this is wrong. And then we'll take this one. Yeah.

Steven 
Yeah, I like that. Yeah,

you give them the information and then allow them to decide what's best for them and their family and their situation. You're just helping educate them and give them more ideas and let them see that there's other things that they might not have learned yet or know about. So I like that approach that you're not kind of forcing anybody to do anything. You're just, you're.

you know, giving them the opportunity to learn and grow and they can then choose what they want to do with that information. So, sounds like a really powerful way of helping these people in their situations, is so, I imagine, certainly from my experience and I imagine for much of my audience listening to this, it's a different experience that we grew up in and, you know, it's really...

sounds incredible what you're doing and the help that you're providing to the women from these rural areas of Tanzania. Can you tell me a little bit, and I do want to dig in a little bit deeper about some of the programs and projects like the solar engineering and beekeeping and things, but before we jump in and go deeper into some of those skills that you're training these women on, can you tell me a bit about

Barefoot College itself. I understand it's an organization that started in India and kind of founded under some of the principles of Mahatma Gandhi. But can you just educate me on what Barefoot College is and then we can go a little bit deeper into some of the other programs that you're now working on and supporting.

Barefoot College, did I get that right? Did it start in India or? So can you educate me on that?

Brenda Geofrey 
Yes, so it's true it started in India a lot of years ago and then in 2011 is when the movement started in Zanzibar. So we didn't have the center that we have currently. We used to take women from Zanzibar to India. And they'll stay there for six months to learn about solar. So these women

Steven 
wow.

Wow, that's a big change, yeah.

Brenda Geofrey
Yeah, these women, they have never been outside their villages. And as I mentioned, most of them, don't know how to read or write. So imagine traveling to a new country for the first time by yourself to go and meet the teachers who speak English and Hindi while you speak Swahili. And it's a new environment for six months.

Steven 
Right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Brenda Geofrey 
So you can imagine how women felt, but again they were ready to go.

Steven 
Yeah, that bravery and courage to do that, but also I'm sure fear to do that. That, that's, that's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. So you said.

Brenda Geofrey 
Yeah, there are some

there are some of the women. So I'll just take you out. I'll tell you shortly how we get these women. So in Zanzibar, even before we set up the center, government has always been on our side. The revolutionary government of Zanzibar. So we partner with different ministries in 2011 until 2014.

Steven 
Okay.

Brenda Geofrey 
The women that went to India, in total they were 13. So they went in different batches. Some traveled two, some traveled three, but it was in between 2011 to 2014. These women are from the villages which are not connected to the grid, to the electricity grid of the nation. So they don't have power. Most of them, are using kerosene lamps.

Steven 
Yeah, sure. Sure.

Brenda Geofrey 
They are using a torch, few of them who can purchase batteries. Others are using candles, but most of people are using kerosene lamps because at least kerosene is not very expensive, but also, yeah, torch is for those people who can afford batteries because torch, at least you can go outside because at night you go with the candle, it's like the wind will blow it out.

Steven 
Yeah.

And to just clarify for the term torch is probably more commonly understood in the United States as a flashlight. it's a battery powered handheld flashlight called a torch there here just so people understand what you're, I just wanted to clarify that so people might not get confused with the difference of terminologies, but thank you.

Brenda Geofrey 
the crossing line.

Mm.

Steven 
Sorry, so continue those those who have had the ability to buy batteries would have torches versus the the candles because it's you know, obviously a better light source in the evening. that that's again and kerosene you said is a is a also relatively inexpensive to to purchase in the rural communities. Is that did I hear you correctly?

Brenda Geofrey 
Yes, that's true. Carousing is expensive. I don't know the current price, but it's 1. something USD per litre.

Steven 
Okay, so.

Brenda Geofrey 
Yes,

1.5 maybe or 1.6 USD per litre. So if you have, let's say, four kerosene lamps in the house, then you can just use that one for two days and it's over. Yeah. So we work with the government. We select these women. And again, the 13 women who went to India from 2011 to 2014.

Steven 
gone yeah yeah so

Brenda Geofrey 
They are now the master trainers because in 2014 the previous president of Zanzibar, Dr. Shane, visited India. He was very impressed with the project and he met some of the mamma from Zanzibar in India. said, instead of bringing all these women to India, please do the project in Zanzibar. So even the land where we build our center, we was given by the Honorable President.

Yeah, so 13 women, they become master trainers. Now they're the ones teaching other women at the center. And how we get these women again, we work with government, as I mentioned, so we write a letter to different agencies. Most of it is Zanzibar Electrical Cooperation, where they'll give us the list of villages.

Steven 
Nice.

Brenda Geofrey 
or sometimes by utility regulatory authority, they will give us a list of the villages which are not yet connected to the grid. After they share with us the list, what we do is we go visit these villages to see do they also fit barefoot standards because for us as well, we work with the communities which are not connected to the grid, that's one, but again, they are very far to be reached.

Sometimes you don't even have roads, don't have any social services, don't have hospital, don't have dispensary, you don't have anything. So we want to work with those communities which are very, very far to be reached because we believe that as soon as we reach there, other NGOs will also join us. And again, we work with a lot of partners, so it's easy to convince them after we have done something to them already.

Steven 
Yeah, sure.

Brenda Geofrey 
So

those are the kind of the community that we work with. So we already identify the villages. We go meet the chief of that village first. That's number one. We talk to the chief and then we say, chief, can you please call in for a public meeting? We want to.

to call all the members of the community want to two women from this village to come with us to our center. Solar program is a three month training. Before it was five months, now it's three months. So all these three months, they are staying at the center without going home. So we have criteria and whenever there is a public meeting when it's called.

It's a master trainer. There were women that went to India, convincing the community. And because they are also examples, they are also role models, it's easy to get women. Yes. So they'll also attract those women to join us because they'll be saying, okay, you...

Steven 
Sure. Sure. Yeah.

Brenda Geofrey 
just like me. didn't go to school. But at the end of the day, I'm a solar engineer. I electrified my commute. So you can also do the same. And again, we are your teachers. We know how it's a problem or it's a struggle for a person who have never been to school to be in a class. So we know everything. And then mamas are comfortable to join our programs.

Steven 
Yeah. Yeah.

Brenda Geofrey 
And again, when they come to the center, of course, when I'm talking about this, it seems very easy, but most of the time it's very, very difficult.

Steven 
Yeah, it doesn't seem easy to me at all. seems like, yeah, very, very, every step of the way seems like there's challenges and that these, the women that you serve have to overcome and just your work then it's, so yeah, it's incredibly important, but it doesn't sound easy.

Brenda Geofrey 
So one thing which is always a struggle for us is women getting access, like permission from their husbands. That's one of the things which is, yeah. So one of the criteria that we have actually for solar program is for a woman to be at least 35 years old, because that age is, sometimes you're already a grandmother, 35 years old.

Steven 
sure now yeah yeah

Yeah, you've already,

yeah, sure, that makes sense. Yeah, so there's...

Brenda Geofrey 
Yeah. Yeah, so we want

to woman who are like that, like women who have roots to the village. Women who after training they will return to their villages and they will do installation and again they'll be responsible for maintenance and repairing of the equipment. So that's that's how it is.

Steven 
Yeah.

Well, it's so, I'm sure, transformative to these villages than when the women come back with this education and this ability to harness solar power to provide energy to the community, to their homes, to their neighbors' homes. I'm sure it's transformative, not just for the women who go to do the training, but obviously how much benefit they're bringing back to their...

village and their community. That sounds incredible. So do you have any success stories that you can share about how that transformation has occurred in someone who's been trained and then they've gone back and the difference that they've made in their home village?

Brenda Geofrey 
We have a lot of successful stories, a lot of them. So I'll tell you a few. I'll tell you a few. One of the mama, her name is Fatuma Jumahagi. She's 58 currently. She went to India in the first batch. So she's from one of, you know, we are living in the big island, but again, there are small, small islands as well inside the big island.

Steven 
Yeah, I'm sure. you share one? Please, please.

Brenda Geofrey 
So she lives in one of the small island called Panza in Pemba Island. And when she went to India, her family approved of her and all that. And then she came back with equipment. She electrified the whole village. One day we went to visit her and everybody treats her like she's a queen. That's how everybody feel like.

You know, so we actually did one of the successful stories because she was featured in the Dubai Expo film documentary where we opportunity, the theme was opportunity. So she took opportunity to go to India and now she changed the whole life of the villages. We interviewed students who used to get burned because they'll be studying in the evening, fall asleep.

and then they jump catch fires and they are all burned. We interviewed fishermen. It's an island so a lot of people are into fishing. The fishermen who used to complain that they will come home from fishing 3 a.m. 2 a.m. to find that everything smell like kerosene when they cleaning up their fish and the next day nobody will sell it. We interviewed some villagers who used to have snake bites.

Steven 
Yeah.

no.

Yeah.

Brenda Geofrey 
Because at night when it's 6, nobody do anything in the community. Like the day end at 6 p.m. We interviewed shopkeepers who say they will open up their shops at 7 a.m. close before 6, before dark. Because if they have to sell, who will come? It's like a probability. It's already dark everywhere. Nobody wants to go outside because of a lot of snake bites.

Steven 
Yeah.

Right.

Brenda Geofrey 
who would want to come? But again, if I stay longer, miss, I have to sell everything with the kerosene lamp in my hand. And then I'm selling sweets, I'm selling food things. Again, that's already a problem. So sometimes you don't see that, but those are the things you can actually see from the villages. Again, with Mana Fatuma herself, she's now a role model. She actually told us one day that even my kids and my grandkids

are looking at me as a role model. Like my grandmother is going up on the roof, putting the panel. I want to do more than her. Before, in her time when she was growing up, she didn't have any role model. For her, it was seeing your mother washing dishes, cleaning every day. Every day. You don't see it. So for her, she's happy now that even the fact that her kids want to achieve more than what she has achieved.

Steven 
Yes.

Yeah.

Brenda Geofrey 
I remember in 2018 she traveled to Russia. We always get to be invited in different meetings. So actually the person who invited us could only find one person to go. So normally she would always struggle with somebody who can help her with English because she doesn't speak English. But for Russia we say, no, this is an opportunity. We can't miss it. Please go. You wouldn't get lost.

So she was going to, she traveled from Zanzibar to Russia by herself. And the moment she came back from the trip, she said, I want to learn English. That will be the first thing I want to do. And now she speak good English more than I. So you can imagine how, how I'll say this training has changed the people lives.

When I was interviewing, she said she had to wait for money from her husband. Everything from husband, at least now she even have respect in her community because she can make decision for the family. She doesn't have to wait for the husband all the time. So these are the things we have. Like you see how women change even from the way they speak to you. When they just came to the center.

Steven 
Yeah.

Yeah.

Brenda Geofrey 
They are very shy, most of them are looking down when you talk to them. But a months later, they are talking to you and even question, know, like, why is this here? Why is this not there? You know, like, maybe it will be better if we do this. So you see how the program has really transformed these women. Yeah. But again, talking of the number of people, so far we have trained 65 women. So we have

nine from Somaliland, have two from Malawi and then the rest are from Zanzibar. In Zanzibar itself we have electrified more than a thousand and eight hundred houses.

Steven 
incredible. The ripple effect of change and benefit from just those 65 women is incredible. Just the benefit and the multi-generational change that's happening and the multi-generational improvement for quality of life. Just so amazing. I literally had to wipe a tear from my eye. I'm so full of joy hearing this story.

Brenda Geofrey 
So, yeah.

Steven
the, you know, your passion for this work and the absolute uplifting of individual women, but uplifting then that they're doing for their own families and their communities is just really such a beautiful and powerful story. It's incredible. So, so the solar, there's, then there's beekeeping and

Brenda Geofrey 
Thank you.

Steven 
and other skill sets. you really kind of have a number of ways that you're, you know, helping educate and give real tangible skills to these women. Brenda, what can we do? What can I do? What can people listening, you know, or watching this, like, what can we do to support you or what, you know, or help?

your mission and continue to help you expand this incredible work that you're doing in Tanzania.

Brenda Geofrey 
Thank you very much again for your kind words on the impact that we have. Because of time, of course, I wouldn't share a lot of the successful story, but on this year when we were celebrating International Women's Day, we trained farmers. Nowadays, especially in Zanzibar, I know it's across the world, but

in rural areas where women don't have any education about climate change. They're like in a puzzle, you know, like what's happening? Farmers are the ones who are feeding the whole island. And then maybe we were supposed to have rain in March, but there is no single day when it rained. So farmers are stuck, it's like what's happening? You know?

Steven 
Sure, wow. Never thought. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Wow, yeah, yeah.

Brenda Geofrey
So most of you go to the village and most of say, it's the end of the world these days. So for them, they are confused. What should we do? We need to eat, we need to sell our products to eat. That's why we came up with the idea of regenerative agriculture. We train these women about how to tackle the impact of the climate change using the compost, matching methods, like all these techniques.

so they could at least keep the impact of climate changing their farm. So it was very helpful. But again, we provide them with equipment, which again, they'll go and practice better farming techniques. We visit women and say, sometimes the livestock will come into my farm and try to eat my products. If you give me fence, it will save, because the livestock wouldn't get in.

or sometimes there is no rain but we train them how to have a stream water when it's rain. If I have a bigger tank, if I just have a tank, I'll save some water to put it in the soil. know, small, small things they need. For example, for our beekeeping program, we had a very big problem in terms of deforestation. People are cutting trees and sell as firewoods, others are making charcoals, but they are cutting trees is because they don't know the importance of

preserving the trees. they don't know that with the same trees, they could actually earn more money more than when they cut it and make charcoal or sell firewoods. That's why we even introduce the beekeeping. Because we'll say, we'll train you to become a sustainable beekeeper. And then you will not be killing bees because others are like they have inherited the bee hives.

from their parents but they don't know how to use it well. So we will teach you, we will train you on how to be sustainable, how you can open beehives without bees stinking you. You'll get the protective gear, you'll give you gloves, you'll give you gumboots and then you can harvest your honey, come to us, sell to us. We'll buy it in a very good price. Beafoot Coy Zanzibar will have very good condition with hotels in Zanzibar.

they purchase honey from us. So it's already, I would say it's already a business to business kind of relationship. So instead of cutting trees, preserve them. Bees love trees. They pollinate even the crops, a lot of things that we have. So most of the time it's because they lack education. But if we give them education, it helps them to make good decision. So to answer your question about

Steven 
Nice.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

Brenda Geofrey 
what do what what we could the listeners could support us so we have a lot of trainers we have the facilities and if we could get if we could double the impact through their support it will be great yeah

Steven
So can people

go to your website and support you online that way? what's the best way for people to provide you that support if they're inspired by this story and they want to contribute?

Brenda Geofrey 
Yes, so if you go to our website, there is a place where you can do donation. But again, if you reach out to us with our email from the website, again, we will give you all the instruction until you can donate. but there is a direct place in the website where you can go straightly and donate. And we really appreciate. And again, in our social media,

Steven 
Perfect. Perfect.

Brenda Geofrey 
We are in Instagram, have Facebook, Belfort College, Zanzibar. If you go in, you check, also LinkedIn, you will see updates of different activities and the program that we run. Yes.

Steven 
Perfect. I will put all of your contact information on the show notes page so people can go and get all that information and follow you on social media and reach out to you on your website as well and hopefully give support, give contributions and support so that you can continue doing the incredible work that you're doing and...

I thank you for sharing the story about the beekeeping as well. I think it's brilliant. The business connections that you've already made to really help take that barrier away from the people from trying to figure out how to sell the honey, you've already solved that problem for them. So they just can continue to prosper and.

do so in a sustainable way. All of that is so brilliant and so impressive. I'm hopeful that you'll get some support from coming on the show. I'm incredibly grateful that you took time out to share this all with me. So, I do want to transition into the future a little bit with you. end every episode...

of story sustain us by talking about hope. And your whole story is so filled with hope and such an uplifting story. But I know there's more to be done and more that you want to do and more that you want to accomplish. So hope is this idea. It's not just a feeling. It's really a mindset.

So I want to ask you about hope. So the first question.

Brenda Geofrey 
So.

Thank

Steven 
Brenda, what is your hope for a better future? This could be for you or for your profession or for the world. What's your vision for a better future?

Brenda Geofrey 
you

So for me, the vision to the better future, I'll say it's seeing women, especially rural women outside, you know, in the big picture, doing a lot of fancy things. And again, I forgot just to mention this.

A lot of time when I'm doing a presentation or I'm saying that we are training rural women, people are asking me why rural women, you know, and I will always tell them. Women from the rural areas they

Brenda Geofrey 
don't have access to smartphones. They don't have access to the Internet. If I am staying home, it's easy for me to just, you know, go over my phone, I'll get opportunities, I'll apply. But for a person who lives in the rural communities, don't have access to all of this. It's very difficult. So I always tell and advise fellow like other NGOs, please also focus on

Rural women. It's really important.

Yeah, for me, my vision is seeing women from rural areas also involved in decision making, involved in the country, involved in a lot of activities. Yeah.

Steven 
Perfect. So the second question and your whole, everything you've talked about, I think is an answer to the second question, but I want to make sure you have an opportunity to expand more if you'd like to, but this, but, but why, why do you want to see more rural women be trained in, in giving these educational opportunities?

Brenda Geofrey 
Mm.

So with over six years of working with them, I believe that rural women are very innovative and rural women are very brainy.

Steven
So the last question, I don't know if you heard it before the power cut out.

Brenda Geofrey 
of

Yeah. Yeah.

Steven 
So I'll just ask one more time and then see if we can capture that answer. How will it make you feel when your vision of the future is happening? And it's no longer just a vision, but it's reality. It's what's happening, that more women are being trained and more opportunities are provided to rural women. How does that make you feel?

Brenda Geofrey 
I think as a human being, feel really like, I feel like...

anybody is involved, you know, I feel like every decision which is made, it's involved anybody, everyone. So for me, I feel like it's more like my dream came true, you know? Yeah. Yeah.

Steven 
Yeah, beautiful.

Well, Brenda, thank you so much for taking time out to speak with me. I really hope your dream comes true and that you continue to get the support that you need so that you can continue to provide all of these amazing opportunities to the women of rural Tanzania. So.

Thank you for joining me today on Stories Sustain Us and I'll leave you with the final word if there's anything else you'd like to say to the audience before we go.

Brenda Geofrey 
Thank you very much for listening to us and I really appreciate it and I hope you visit our social media and website so we could double our impact, so we could empower more women, so we could create more role models in the communities. We really appreciate it. Thank you very much, Steven.

Steven 
Perfect. Well, thank you Brenda and I wish you and everyone there all the best. So thank you so much. Bye bye.

Brenda Geofrey 
Thank you very much.

Bye bye.

Steven 
What a wonderful conversation with Brenda Geofrey, the country director with Barefoot College International in Zanzibar. In today's episode, we explored how Brenda is transforming the lives of rural women through education, skills training, and community engagement. We heard inspiring stories of women becoming solar engineers, beekeepers, tailors, and regenerative farmers, often without having ever set foot in a formal classroom. We learned about the ENRICHE program.

and how it builds leadership among women and how Brenda's work is equipping them not just with skills, but with confidence, dignity, and the power to change their communities. Personally, I'm deeply moved by Brenda's compassionate and clear-eyed vision of what's possible when women in rural Tanzania are given the opportunity to thrive. Her work touches on so many aspects of global sustainability, from ending poverty and promoting sustainable agriculture,

to empowering women and girls, ensuring lifelong learning and expanding access to clean modern energy solutions. Brenda's helping build a world where no one is left behind. And in doing so, she's modeling what true sustainability looks like. Equity, education, and opportunity for all. I wanna thank Brenda for joining us on Stories Sustain Us and for the incredible work she's doing to uplift women, light homes,

and make the world a better, more just place, one village at a time. To everyone listening or watching, I hope you're as inspired as I am by Brenda's story. If you're wondering how you can take action, here are a few ways. Support the work of Barefoot College International in Zanzibar. Share their story, donate if you're able, or learn more about how to get involved. Advocate for women's education and access to clean energy in your own community. Mentor a young person.

volunteer with a local nonprofit, or explore how regenerative practices can take root in your own backyard. Even small actions can ripple out into big changes. So thank you for being here with me today. If you've enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with your family and friends, liking and following the show, and leaving a comment. I'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to join me next time on Stories Sustain Us.

when I speak with an inspirational leader working at the intersection of faith and sustainability. Through interfaith collaboration, this change maker is equipping communities to honor sacred waters, become faithful stewards, and restore the health of our shared watersheds. Catch the next episode of Stories Sustain Us on April 29th at storiessustainus.com, wherever you listen to podcasts and on YouTube. Thank you again for spending part of your day with me.

Keep doing what you can to make the world a better place. Your actions really do matter. Until next time, I'm Steven Schauer. Please take care of yourself and each other. Take care.