Gerald Noah works as an advocate in Tanzania and is passionate about social justice and equality. He's also a member of the Mara Cluster. In this Q+A he tells us about himself and the work he does.
Tell us about yourself! I work as an advocate practicing law in different courts of the country. I also teach law and Human Rights courses, and work part-time for an NGO called Legal and Social Assistance Center where we create awareness around Human Rights in order to see a just society.
Interesting! Where are you from and what makes you proud to be from there? I come from the Southern highlands of Tanzania in a region called Mbeya. The name of my town is Tukuyu and it is a green place with wonderful climate. I also love the variety of food that we have. Everyone in Tanzania knows where to get their quality rice from!
What are you passionate about? I am passionate about social justice and concentrate my practice on Human Rights cases, Women Empowerment and Children's Rights. Growing up, I saw that men in my community were more privileged than women. For example, girls were not allowed to go to school and were more likely to get married instead. In Mara, girls are subjected to Female Genital Mutilation. All this inequality triggered my passion to fight for equality in the society.
How did you get involved with our network? I went to Mara as an employee in an Academic institute and got the opportunity to meet Ostack who was the Mara Cluster Mobilizer. We were both lawyers and found that we had a mutual interest in helping the society.
What attracted you to the Cluster? We had a wonderful discussion with Elizabeth, Jake and Robins from the Support team. I was interested because I saw that Arukah Network values collaboration. I knew that if we worked together, we would be able to achieve more than if we worked alone. I loved the analogy that they used on how roots in the ground are connected and work together to form a beautiful forest!
As you step in, what are your hopes for the future of your work and the cluster? I am very optimistic about the future! I am confident that the awareness campaigns that we run around the issues we face will be fruitful and that we will have a just society. I also hope that as a Cluster, we will continue to make continued efforts towards working together. Now that COVID restrictions are being lifted, we can have regular fruitful meetings with all Cluster members so that we can work towards the change we want to see.
What do you enjoy doing outside of your work? When I am not working, I am probably reading a novel. I also love visiting our National Parks and the beautiful beaches along the coast!
Amazing Gerald! Thank you for sharing your story and for your valuable work in the society. We appreciate you!
Learn how another member of the Mara Cluster is using farming to fight poverty and hunger, HERE