Living In The Streets Did Not Break Me- It Made Me Fearless! Jackie Bomboma

Reed Markham said that successful leaders see the opportunities in every difficulty rather than the difficulty in every opportunity. This quote best describes Jackie Leonard Bomboma from Tanzania.

This fearless 30 year old is the founder of Young Strong Mothers, an NGO whose main objective is to provide an opportunity for girls and young mothers to address their health, social, legal and economic needs. This is through educating, providing services and strengthening their entrepreneurship skills. This idea was born following the rough life she experienced as a young girl.

I got pregnant at 15 years old. The whole community isolated me. Everyone abandoned me calling me a curse. No one talked to me for months. I was homeless. I lived in the bushes. I gave birth by the roadside with the help of two strangers.

Jackie lost her parents when she was three months old. The only person that accepted her was her grandfather. It was a tough upbringing. There was no money to enroll her to high school after primary school.

Few months after my baby was born, I ran away from home. My grand father had accepted us back months after kicking me out but the poverty and rejection from the community was hard to bear. I joined the street life in Tabora and in Dares salaam for years. It was really tough.

Later on I got a job as a maid for a really great young lady who mentored me and saw my hunger for education. She sponsored me through high school before she relocated to Canada.

Jackie studied hard. Worked part time doing odd jobs in various organizations to provide for her daughter. Her break was getting a secretarial job in a local organization and working her way up managerial level.

My organization has reached 576 girls with 38 girls having graduated from our entrepreneurship course and 15 in vocational training. Others have gone through health hygiene with a main focus on HIV and pregnancy.

Jackie’s vision is to build a center for her organization which is in progress having bought 15 acres of land. She has partnered with the public, various local and international organizations and some arms of the Tanzanian government to build on her vision.

She has been featured widely by the media from BBC, Voice of America and local media. I hugely admire this because I believe the local media MUST get involved in telling the positive influence of young Africans in their communities.

Never give up. I have lived, tasted and breathed the wilderness for far too long but the desire to succeed and to see my daughter succeed was so great. I just had to see it come in to fruition.

I used to survey cars, houses and buildings as a street kid and claim them for my future. Getting selected for YALI RLC was transforming. My thinking is now different. I am a better leader. The connections and networks I made are unbelievable.

Jackie’s call to action is to partner with like minds and help reach hundreds of girls. She is looking to build her team and invites people with the technical know how and capacity building skills to join her team and make Tanzania a safe haven for naive and disadvantaged girls.

Keep up the great work Jackie! you are a great inspiration for young African leaders.