Son,father,husband,social entrepreneur and community leader. I met this man in South Africa last year when he and many others came to visit Rlabs Cape Town .
We really never had real time to mix and really get to know each other, as I was busy at many times and Karol was always working, learning, absorbing information like a sponge. At times it would look strange as everyone else would be out discovering and having fun, not that he didn’t but he had an energy like no one else and was so focused. We just accepted that, that was how Karol was, ( a geek ) from Tanzania.
So this year, actually this very moment, I am in Sengerema, a town in Mwanza which is one of the regions of Tanzania and yes, this is where Karol is based and the very first day, actually the moment I stepped off the bus in Sengerema, I got welcomed by a sign " Elimu printing shop " . Well this is one of the businesses this 27 year old university student runs as a sustainable model to support the work his organisation Elimu Living lab (school of entrepreneurship and innovation ) does.
I promise you, if I should tell you all the business projects this group of youngsters are running, like producing petroleum jelly, to become self sustainable, this blog post will turn into a book.
One more thing I want the world to know about what this amazing social entrepreneur and his team does, so they also run a school of about 50 students who would not be accepted to go on to secondary education and where rejected and they have lost hope. Until they where recruited into the Elimu school. I have seen the progress in the worksheets of these students, I have seen the dedication to change and I have seen the hope that has been restored to these youth.
For Karol and his team, this is not a full time job, but a lifestyle. We start at 8:00 am - 22:00 pm as Elimu also runs hostels for girls and boys separately. This is the life I am living with these champions here in Sengerema and I love it, right now I love that I am here.
I am sure that is a brief description of who this amazing youngster is, I am sure you should have a idea of what he is busy with,Karol reminds me of another social entrepreneur I know personally,Marlon Parker : " Social entrepreneur and founder of Rlabs ". The future looks so much brighter now for me, as I now know two social entrepreneurs personally.
This is a introduction story of a champion of Tanzania
Karol Novat (Elimu Living Lab)
