The Faces of Orkeeswa- Margaret Merkioli

Starting today, here on The Morningstar Foundation's news page we will be running a biographical series on the wonderful students who make up Orkeeswa Secondary School, called "The Faces of Orkeeswa." We will begin the series with a profile of one of Orkeeswa's most inspiring success stories, that of Margaret Merkioli.

This is Margaret Merkioli, a form five student at Orkeeswa Seconary School. Margaret’s life was never easy; shortly after her birth, her father abandoned the family, and only a few years later, her mother lost her life to AIDS. Now parentless, Margaret was raised by extended family members for most of her childhood.

But even in the face of such hardship, Margaret would not give up. Rather, she blossomed into one of the most sincere, thoughtful, and articulate young women at Orkeeswa Secondary School.

Indeed, Margaret has become an amazing leader and an articulate voice in her community, and she has developed a devoted passion to see women in her community become empowered with equal rights and opportunities. After finishing Orkeeswa, she plan’s on studying law at a university and addressing women’s rights in Tanzania. She is the first Orkeeswa student to visit the United States, where she participated in a youth leadership conference. After returning from her leadership training, Margaret was voted in as Student Body Vice President at Orkeeswa Secondary School.