DOZ Leadership Lessons
By Eturuvie Erebor
DR. TERERAI TRENT
D
r. Tererai Trent is a woman with an inspiring
story. Her story demonstrates what is possible
when people have dreams and keep pursuing
them in spite of the opposition. Her story is one of
tenacity and resilience. It proves that our goals are
achievable if we don’t give up.
Dr. Trent was born and raised in a small village in
Zimbabwe. As a female child she was not given an
opportunity to go to school like the male children,
and so she began to teach herself to read and write,
and it wasn’t long before she was helping her brother
with his homework. She was later allowed to go to
school but not for long as she was soon given away in
marriage at the tender age of 11. It was not the life she
wanted, and she was dissatisfied. By the time her fifth
child was born, she felt trapped with no way of escape
in sight. But one day she met an aid worker who asked
her what her dreams were. Although they seemed
far-fetched, young Tererai was not afraid to voice them.
DOZ Magazine | November 2018
She said that she wanted to go to America and she
wanted to study up to a doctorate. The woman assured
young Tererai that if she believed in her dreams, they
were achievable. At this point, she wrote down her
dreams on paper put them in a tin can and buried them
under a rock. She then acted by enrolling in classes
and studying towards her high school diploma, against
the wishes of her husband. At night she studied, and
after failing twice, she had her high school diploma and
was accepted to study at a university in America. She
arrived in the country of her dreams, but her struggle
was far from over. She worked four jobs while going
to school and sometimes had to scavenge for food for
her family from the dustbins of grocery stores. But her
determination to achieve her dreams would not let
her stop. Then her husband became violent and began
to hit her which led to the end of the marriage and his
arrest and deportation to Zimbabwe. After completing
her Ph.D., she decided it was time to give back to the
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