Unite Scholar Michael Charles Shoide, 22, is now in his second year of medical school at Kairuki University in Dar es Salaam. Michael was recently chosen one of Tanzania’s Top 100 Global Citizens by the Global Leadership Awards.
“Michael Shoide is a dedicated medical student committed to public health, youth empowerment, and international advocacy.”
— Global Leadership Awards
Michael’s story is an interesting one, full of unexpected twists and turns.
In June 2022, Michael completed high school in Tanzania along with the rest of his class of Unite Scholars. Michael earned As in all of his classes and scored extremely well on his national leaving examinations. Following his Form 6 graduation, Michael enrolled in the Tanzanian National Service for three months to demonstrate his patriotism to his country. From there, he returned home and eagerly awaited his university placement from the Tanzanian government. However, as the weeks passed and Michael’s Unite classmates began receiving their university placements… Michael heard nothing. We were confused and surprised. Ultimately, Michael was not awarded a placement to study medicine in a government institution.
Heartbroken but determined, Michael decided to try again. It would take one year before he could re-sit for his national examinations and qualify again as a university candidate. Unite supported Michael with funds to live (he needed to rent a room where it was quiet), study (we provided Michael with books and tutoring support for classes), and work. (Michael found a job as a part-time waiter, and Unite paid him to work Unite STEM bonanzas at local primary schools and as an intern with the Unite Food Program and H&N Courier Express in Dar es Salaam.) Unite also included Michael in all Unite events across the country.
Left: Michael with Unite Scholars Program Manager and Lead Mentor Joan Mnzava. Right: Michael studying for his examinations in his rented room.
Finally, in May 2023, Michael re-sat for the national examinations, and, once again, he scored extremely well. However, against all odds, Michael again did not receive a medical school placement by the Tanzanian government. We all were devastated. Somehow Michael had fallen through the cracks of the system.
Thankfully, Unite’s Program Director Anty Marche was determined to find a solution. Anty called relentlessly upon her contacts across Tanzania and throughout the diaspora asking for introductions, connections, support, and advice. She pushed, and she pleaded. And finally she found a seat for Michael to study medicine at Kairuki University. However, as a private institution, Unite did not at the time have sufficient funding to make such a commitment to Michael. But then, in another miraculous turn of events, just as registration was closing, a few generous donors stepped forward to sponsor Michael, in full, throughout his medical school. Hallelujah!
So… In November 2023, Michael’s journey to becoming a doctor began. And today, one year later, Michael is an award-winning student at one of the most renowned and respected medical institutions in Tanzania and personally mentored by Unite’s partner and friend Dr. Leonard Malasa, an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health at Kairuki University and Founder of Tanzania Better Health.
Left to right: Dr. Leonard Malasa; Michael Charles; Anne Wells; Sima Kairuki, Corporate Council at Kairuki University; and Anty Marche, Unite Program Director. Pictured October 16, 2024, at Kairuki University in Dar es Salaam.
Over the past year, Michael has stacked up a pile of achievements, awards, and appointments including serving as International Campus Ambassador for the Federation of African Medical Students' Associations; Chairperson of the Youth Advisory Board for TAHMEF, a HealthTech non-profit; Youth Ambassador for UNIAID AFRICA’s campaign for Girls in STEM; Coordinator of the Standing Committee of Rights and Peace; and Project Coordinator for Tanzania Medical Students’ Association at Kairuki University.
And, with Unite’s support, Michael has been able to participate in a number of internships and medical outreach initiatives including Tanzania Better Health’s mission in rural Monduli, Tanzania, through which the team provided health testing, assessments, and education to more than 3,000 at-risk community members. Unite also continues to provide Michael with paid work to serve as a Big Brother and a tutor to his fellow Unite Scholars (those who are still in high school). We also engaged Michael to help write and edit a series mental health training modules that are now being used as part of our Unite Club curriculum, which has reached more than 1,500 high school students across Africa.
Michael working with Tanzania Better Health’s medical outreach mission in Monduli, Tanzania, in September 2024, under the leadership and guidance of Dr. Malasa.
Michael’s background
Michael is the only child of Hosiana Urio. Hosiana fell pregnant with Michael when she was extremely young and still in primary school. According to Tanzanian law at that time, once a girl was found to be pregnant, she was immediately expelled from school. Sadly Hosiana’s education came to a crashing half. Michael’s father then ran away, so Hosiana was left to raise Michael on her own. Hosiana struggles to support Michael and herself by working as a cleaner (earning ~$38 a month). She and Michael live in a tiny single rented room in Dar es Salaam. (Hosiana sleeps on the bed and Michael on a small sofa.)
Left: Michael and his mother, Hosiana, in their room in Dar es Salaam. Right: Michael and his mother at the Tanzania Awards Ceremony, November 1, 2024, Dar es Salaam.
Getting Michael through primary and lower secondary school at government institutions was not easy for his mother. Michael often went without the most basic needs, food, and supplies. Hosiana couldn’t even afford bus fare for school holidays, so Michael would stay on campus, working and doing chores for the school in exchange for room and board. However, despite his challenges, Michael was always a top performing student. In fact, at the completion of Michael’s O-levels (~10th grade), his school headmistress wrote:
“Michael Charles is very hard working and responsible. He earned the near-perfect score of 1.9 on his Form 4 National Exam. Michael is one of the best students in our school’s history.”
Once Michael completed lower-secondary school in 2020, there was no chance that his mother could send him on for his A-levels. The costs were just too high and any extended family support that had once existed had ended. (Less than 3% of Tanzanian students are able to enroll in A-level/higher secondary due to such expenses and challenges).
Yet, as luck would have it, Unite had recently partnered with an online organization called Shule Direct to extend a call for applications to our Unite Scholars Program to every district of the country.
Michael stumbled across Shule Direct, applied for a position in our highly-competitive Unite Scholar Program, and was accepted. He has since received comprehensive financial, social-emotional, health, home/family, and general life support from Unite. As a fully-sponsored Unite Scholar, Michael studied Physics, Chemistry, and Biology at the Same Boys School for his A-Levels. And to further support him while in high school school, we launched a Unite Club at Same Boys through which Michael and more than 100 other boys learned about the soft skills of professionalism, emotional intelligence, environmental stewardship, public speaking, communication and presentation skills, and more. Then, to assist Michael and his mother at home, Unite provided them a grant to start and build a small business selling charcoal. During the time of COVID Michael received the opportunity to participate in our Unite Ambassador Program, during which time he was paired with a Northwestern student in America, and together they tackled academic and creative challenges and built a friendship that endures until this day.
“The presence of my Unite family in my life has wiped away my tears and removed the burden of the heavy luggage that my mother and I carried. I am grateful, and I love you so much Unite.”
— Michael Charles Shoide
Michael in medical school. Left: Working with a cadaver. Right: Working in the lab.
“Thanks to Unite, I’ve been fortunate to work alongside inspiring individuals who share a vision of a healthier, more equitable world. I am continuously motivated by the potential for positive change in our communities.”
— Michael Charles Shoide
Unite Founder and Executive Director Anne Wells with Michael (left) at our Pathways to Success Summit in Usa River, Tanzania, in October 2024 with other Unite scholars studying in the field of medicine: Left to right: David Sichone (Microbiology), Pili Biba (Nursing), Andia Rubai (Environmental Health Science), Hawa Hamimu (Occupational Therapy), Michael, Anne, Vaileth Komba (Medicine), Zainabu Seiph (Medicine), Veronica Moses (Radiology), and Gracia Didas (Pharmacy).
Note: Tanzania Global Awards is part of Global Leadership Awards, a global celebration of U.S. Exchange Alumni who have created a safer, more peaceful, and more prosperous world. U.S. Exchange Alumni are the next generation of global leaders working to build a better world. Their mission is to We strengthen grassroots initiatives to successfully address U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.