217 New Scholarships Awarded

For more than a decade, Asilia’s Scholarship programme has helped young people from communities around the areas where we operate in Tanzania take their first step towards careers in tourism and hospitality. They begin building a career in the tourism industry by enrolling in a tourism college Veta Vocational Tourism Training Institute (VHTTI ) based in Arusha, Tanzania.

Successful Applicants at Msolwa Station Ward, Southern Tanzania

Tourism creates greater local value when people living alongside the landscapes where it operates can access the skills, qualifications, and employment opportunities the industry generates. The Asilia Scholarship Programme was created for exactly this reason, many young people in these communities have the ability and ambition to enter tourism but lack the financial means to continue into vocational training after secondary school. Each year, Asilia offers scholarships to cover this gap for many, it's the only path from secondary education into a real career. By investing in local talent, Asilia builds a skilled, homegrown workforce for the tourism industry and strengthens its relationship with surrounding communities.

Asilia Scholarship Programme was created to help youth pursue careers in hospitality and tourism. It targets youth from areas where tourism is practiced and around protected areas where Asilia operates. For many students the opportunity can be life-changing.

Sophia Obetto is a former scholarship student who now works for Asilia at Namiri Camp in the Serengeti. She explains, “I completed primary school, but my family didn’t want me to continue in secondary education. Instead, they were keen for me to marry and had arranged for me to marry one of my father's friends. I was just 16 years old, and he was 40. Two days before the planned wedding I ran away with the help of my aunt who helped me secure employment so I could pay my way. After a few years I had the opportunity to reconcile with my parents, and my uncle agreed to pay for my secondary education. After completing it I saw an advert for a scholarship through Asilia and successfully found myself studying Hospitality Management. I'm now proud work for Asilia and have a career in hospitality. "

Each year, Asilia offers scholarships to youth who have finished secondary school but lack funding or family support to continue Advanced Secondary school. For many, the scholarship is the only path from secondary education to a real career. By investing in local talent, Asilia builds a skilled and homegrown workforce for the tourism industry and create greater local value when people living alongside the landscape access the skills, qualifications and employment opportunities the industry creates. strengthens its relationship with surrounding communities.

Opportunities start with adverts posted in village offices, outlining the scholarship's purpose, selection criteria, and interview dates. During interviews, candidates have to demonstrate their language skills, introducing themselves in English which is often what they are most nervous about, but the initial selection phase is kept relaxed and informal to encourage participants and to stop nerves getting the better of them. Those passing this phase then travel to Asilia's headquarters in Arusha for a final interview and certificate verification, meeting with college teachers who recommend courses based on each student's competence.

For successful candidates, Asilia covers a year's tuition, accommodation, health insurance, and meals. This year 217 young people have been selected for Scholarships, 117 students from communities in Tanzania’s Southern circuit and 100 from the Northern circuit.

Students spend a year at college and then spend three months in field attachments getting experience and hands-on practice before returning to college for their final term.

Our sponsored students are invited to apply for any job opportunities in our camps and lodges and may have found successful long-term careers with Asilia since the programme began.

For the successful applicants a notice pinned to a village office board becomes the beginning of something much bigger: a year of learning, a first chance to work in Tanzania’s growing hospitality industry, and a path towards a career rooted in the landscapes and communities they call home.