Education Scene

In conversation with Dr. Sharon Tao

Story No. 1.

Part 1.

Have you ever had a moment when your life collides with another?  Or an event that completely changes the course of your journey?

Global pandemic aside…

Meet Sharon Tao: one of our world’s unsung heroines.

Through her own serendipitous meeting with a woman called Winnie, Sharon Tao, went from high-flying advertising executive to volunteer teacher in Tanzania and Rwanda.

Now she is the Educational Director and Team Leader on the world’s largest program that helps marginalised girls become educated: The Girls’ Education Challenge.

Sharon supports 41 girls education projects in 17 of the world’s poorest developing countries.

Flashback: Three months into Denmark’s first-wave-lockdown.

My family moved to a new house. A 1930’s villa. One day we completely lost electricity. I simply rolled my eyes and sighed, “what now?”

My husband, back at the office, suggested I check with our neighbour… I was a little hesitant. Close interaction with another as Copenhagen slowly lifted restrictions! Breathe and recalibrate baby-brain to initiate adult conversation.

I crossed the road to where I could see someone pacing back and forth in their kitchen. Ding-dong. The door swings open and there I was greeted with an excited and loud barking puppy. And reigning in the pup was a woman with long black hair, a bright smile and kind eyes. My shoulders relaxed. Friendlies!

Meet Sharon and Winnie-the-pup.

Upon this encounter with Sharon I had no idea about the profound importance of her position and her work. Her infectious smile and laughter exudes a natural disposition of kindness and positivity. It gives no hint of the daily horrors she saw, such as violent corporal punishment. Nor of her experience with the orphans she taught without basic needs, such as running water.

Flash-forward to January 2021.

After many cups of coffee and great conversations I learn of Sharon’s story. And little did I know, this story would be the serendipitous inspiration I needed to change my own path. From Interior Architect, to an Educator and Mother, to a new journey of creating and launching Scene By Nina.

The Tipping Point….

SBN: What was the tipping point?

ST: ‘I had been working in advertising for eight years. But in the last few years I was feeling a bit ill-at-ease. There were a few things I was having problems with.

The first was the path I was taught to follow: Go to school, get good grades, get a good job, make lots of money and then you’ll be happy. But I did that and was no happier than I was before.… So I was really questioning that formula.

Number two: although I liked the creative aspect of my work I didn’t necessarily feel like I was contributing to anything. And I thought, well fine, these Nike adverts are great, but is that good for society?

I was starting to feel more socially conscious. And this was toward my late 20’s. Prior to that I had no mind (laughs) to be socially conscious at all. So these were the kind of tensions I was having. I was not sure about advertising anymore. But I don’t know what next either.

So that was the foundation for everything.

Then I went on holiday with a good friend of mine from work, to Morocco. And that was the first time I went to a non-western context. So again, I was 29 at the time and I had been all around Europe and North America….but never had I been to Africa.

And I found it absolutely fascinating. The smells, the food, the people the culture, ah, absolutely fascinating.

My friend and I went on a camel trek in the Sahara Desert. And it was probably quite touristy, but actually quite fun. I remember that evening, we were sitting around the campfire and there were two lovely, retired ladies from South Africa and they were telling their stories.

This one woman, her name was Winnie.

She was telling us she was a retired school teacher and volunteers in the Police Station in her township. And she was telling the story of how one night, when she was volunteering, they brought in a small boy, probably 6 or 7 years old. His young mum wanted to go out and party and she left him with neighbours. And these neighbours just weren’t watching him, and the police brought him in. Winnie saw how scared and overwhelmed he was, so she wrapped her arms around him and he just immediately fell asleep in her arms.

I remember listening to her story…she was such a charismatic, warm lady as well. And I remember thinking, gosh…’

“She’s contributing to her community and society at large in a positive way. And she’s retired! And volunteering at night! At a Police Station!”

‘I just thought, wow that’s really remarkable.

So I was quite touched by that story. I came back to Amsterdam, where I was working at the time, feeling buoyed by travel and the need to see more non-western countries.

And meeting amazing people like Winnie, who are so inspiring, made me start to think in a more socially conscious way and about others.

So the first day back at work on a Monday, I was called in for a briefing, to work on a mobile phone advertising campaign. The brief was: get mums to use their phone more for at least a minute a day. Because if we get all the women in this demographic to use their phones for one more minute a day, the mobile phone company stands to gain 50 million Euro next year….

The brief was quite explicitly saying – just manipulate or guilt trip mums to call in and check on their family or kids. And I, (imitates vomit action) was just so disgusted. Here is a brief that is almost, or quite explicitly saying –make women feel bad that they are somehow deficient because they aren’t checking in on their families, ehem, so if they do (using their mobile phone) they’ll be better mums!

And I was disgusted…(laughs).

“I went back to my desk and I literally threw the brief on my desk and typed ‘volunteering in Africa’ into Google.”

I totally ignored the brief, (laughs) and spent the rest of that week researching volunteering organisations that go to Africa.

I was trying to work out, ok there’s a lot of teaching, volunteer opportunities, but I’m not a teacher.

And then there’s this organisation that works with kids in an orphanage – ok!

But that was the moment.

I believe that was at the beginning of June. I quit my job by the end of June.

It was that real confluence of factors and that tipping point of that hideous brief. Had I not been given that brief, it might have taken a bit longer. That was just the match that lit it and made me think, I can’t be doing this anymore. Especially not after meeting people like Winnie.

SNB: Can you recall your first day in Tanzania?

ST: So when I did get to the orphanage the organisation said, ‘…well, since you’re a mother-tongue English speaker, that means you can teach English.’

I was like, really?

I’m not sure I can!

And they said, ‘ok fine, then at least you can help the English teacher at the primary school.’ And in the morning the kids were at the school anyway, so I said, ‘yeah you’re right, fine, I am happy to help the English teacher at the school.’

But please don’t make me responsible for moulding minds, you know!

And, they said, ‘ok start with year 5 English. And Mr Mboya is down at the end of the hallway.’

So I walked into this classroom. It was the first time I had walked into a classroom in a primary school in Tanzania. And there were at least 80 children, if not more. They were all 5 to a desk, row upon row, upon row.

And beautiful big smiles… everyone probably shocked to see this Chinese-Canadian woman, walk into the classroom, you know!

I greeted the teacher and I said, ‘I am here to help, I am a volunteer…’

And he said, ‘oh great, well it’s nice to meet you Sharon. Sharon, this is class, class this is Sharon. And we’re learning how to tell time. See you later, bye have fun.’

And he just left.

Left me to teach the class!

At that point I was a bit in shock and not really sure what to do.

And then I thought, well I have blagged my way through plenty of meetings in advertising.

So I thought, 60minutes in an hour let’s start there. I did a song and dance for the rest of the class. I guarantee no child had any idea what I was saying.

But…. At the end of class, I had a que of about 20 kids just wanting to shake my hand and say, ‘thank you Sharon.’

And I remember being incredibly touched by that.

And having a bit of that ‘Winnie’ moment at that point.

“I remember thinking, wow…. It was very clear; these children did not have much. Just by the holes in their jumpers and their shoes and the lack of pencils, it was clear.”

So at that moment there was a kind of spark when I thought, ok, maybe this is what I have been looking for. I wasn’t sure what next, but this was definitely pulling me in that direction.

SNB: How long were you there for?

ST: ‘I was there for 3 months and then I went backpacking. Then I came back to the same village, same school and taught for another year. And then went to Rwanda and taught there for half a year. Roughly almost 2 years total.’

At this point in the interview, I am struck at once with fear and intrigue. I am afraid of my own ignorance on the topic of education in developing countries and I wanted to learn more.

As a result, to gain a deeper understanding of Sharon’s experience and the gravity of the work she is doing on the GEC, I felt it important to continue her story into a 3 Part post.

In our next instalment of Story No. 1 Part 2 Sharon Tao gives us a personal insight into gaining her Master’s and PhD. She shares how her journey started with Cambridge Education and the GEC. Sharon also discusses her methodology and theories by applying the Capabilities Approach to teachers. We learn more about the challenges girls and female teachers, in particular, face in their day-to-day lives in order to go to school.