How does a girl, married off at eleven years old, mother of three by the time she’s eighteen become an internationally renowned humanitarian and motivational speaker? One Zimbabwean woman did just that. This is her story…

“Tinogona – It is achievable!” is the personal mantra of Dr. Tererai Trent, a Zimbabwean ‘shero’ – an internationally recognized Zimbabwean advocate for “empowerment through quality education,” who featured in Kristof and WuDunn’s book “Half the Sky” that provides accounts of the lives of remarkable women who are changing the world.

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I had the honour of meeting Dr. Tererai Trent a few years ago when she visited the Rotary Club of Central Harare. She struck me as an unpretentious and pleasant woman who, to this day, inspires me to relentlessly pursue my goals and make a difference in the lives of girl-children and women.  Meeting her was a welcome treat that I will always treasure, having watched her on Oprah a few years prior to her visit to Zimbabwe.

Odds from the beginning

Her life story is both heartbreaking and inspiring, considering how she overcame enormous hardships and went on to make a significant difference in her community back home in Zimbabwe. Growing up, Tererai did not have it easy.  Due to her father’s belief that male children are worth more, as the girl child in the family, Tererai did not receive a complete formal education after her father forced her to drop out of school.

Paradoxically, while she was forced to drop out of school, her nonchalant brother Tinashe was obligated to attend.  As her brother brought his books home Tererai saw this as an opportunity to keep herself educated. Undeterred, she persuaded him to permit her to do his homework. Tinashe agreed and, unbeknownst to their parents and his teachers, the desperate-to-learn Tererai secretly did her brother’s schoolwork. When Tinashe’s teacher noticed the stark contrast between Tinashe’s poor performance in class and the perfect homework he submitted, he confronted the young boy, who after a number of lashes confessed the truth.

Realizing her amazing potential, the teacher implored her father and begged him to allow Tererai to attend school.  After much deliberation, he eventually agreed, albeit reluctantly.  Unfortunately, Tererai only attended school for a few terms and by the tender age of eleven, she was married off. By the time she was eighteen, she had three children.

Unsurprisingly, her marriage was abusive.  Her husband not only resented her literacy, he banned her from attending school and any attempts on Tererai’s part to continue reading warranted a beating. She hated her marriage and seemed doomed to be one more statistic.


Tererai’s life changed in 1992 when she had a chance encounter with the president and CEO of Heifer International, Jo Luck, who was in Zimbabwe on an outreach visit.  Jo’s dialogue with the group of village women became the life-changing encounter that marked a new beginning for Tererai.

During their open discussion, Tererai voiced her desire to acquire an education.  Seeing her raw passion, Jo, in turn, encouraged her to write down her goals and to systematically and relentlessly pursue, them telling Tererai, “If you believe in your dreams, they are achievable.”

New Lease on Life

With a new vision for her life, the young mother, now in her 20s, moved to her mother’s village where she painstakingly pursued an education while raising five children.  Spurred on by Jo’s  inspiring words, her mother’s encouragement, and with the help of friends she wrote down her goals (which included her dream to go the United States of America to pursue Bachelor’s, Masters’ and Doctoral degrees) placed them in a tin can and buried it under a specific rock.

As a result of her links with Heifer International, she became a community organizer for the international organization, as well as several Christian organizations, and used her income to enrol in correspondence courses.  With the encouragement of aid workers, she pursued her dream to study in the United States of America.

In 1998 this dream became a reality when she was accepted to Oklahoma State University.  Fearful that her children might end up getting married off, Tererai insisted on taking them with her. Her husband agreed, on the condition that he too could join them.

Writer of the article, Sarah Nyengerai, with Dr Trent.
Writer of the article, Sarah Nyengerai, with Dr Trent.

Heifer International offered her a job after she graduated with her first degree and it was then that she started studying for her Master’s concurrently.  In 2003 (the same year her husband was deported for domestic violence) Tererai obtained her Master’s degree. True to her vision she did not stop there and went on to complete her PhD in 2009.

Upon reaching each achievement, Tererai would visit her home in Zimbabwe where she would dig up her tin can, tick off the goals she had accomplished, and rebury her can of dreams until she had checked off each goal.

Global Impact

Distinguished as Oprah Winfrey’s ‘All-Time Favorite Guest,’ Dr. Tererai Trent’s work has taken her world over, including working for the major global humanitarian organization Heifer International as their Deputy Director Evaluation. Through strategic partnerships with prominent individuals, such as Oprah Winfrey, and international organizations like Save the Children, her foundation Tererai Trent International (TTI) rebuilt her childhood school Matau Primary School.  With the continued support of local and international organizations and well-wishers, TTI aims to build an average of 11 schools in rural Zimbabwe thus providing education for over 5,000 children.

Her firm belief that ‘no other weapon can fight injustice other than education’ and that ‘education is a birthright, not a privilege’ is evidenced by her vision to provide access to quality education while empowering rural communities making her work to-date a sign of greater things to come.

As a renowned motivational speaker, author, educator, humanitarian and philanthropist, Dr. Trent is invited to speak all over the world on various platforms.  Through speaking engagements, she uses her life story to appeal to international communities to invest in equal access to quality education.  For instance, in 2013, as keynote speaker at the UN Global Compact Leaders’ Summit, Dr. Trent opened the plenary session before UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took to the podium.

 

 

 

In addition to participating in speaking engagements, her literary works enable her to reach wider audiences.  Her inspirational picture book The Girl Who Buried Her Dreams in a Can, intended specifically for young readers, is based on her own story of resilience and victory.

Through a second book, The Awakened Woman: Remembering & Reigniting Our Sacred Dreams which was nominated for a 2017 NAACP Image Award Dr. Trent imparts nine invaluable lessons taken from ancient African wisdom that encourage women to not only clearly outline their dreams but to re-examine and relentlessly pursue them.  This she effectively does by sharing her incredible journey from child bride to one of the most prominent speakers on universal education, women empowerment and child rights.

Dr. Tererai Trent can be followed on twitter at @TereraiTrent or on Facebook.