at Northeastern, discusses journey

EDUCATOR, from front

When asked about managing her schedule between running the school, taking care of the children and working on the book, Nyambe acknowledged it was challenging.

“It was a lot,” she said. “We had to have our interviews during errands — getting food or taking care of a sick child. He had to submerge himself into my life. If I was cooking, he’d be there with a phone and a notepad.”

Over the course of the year, Schmitt learned more about Nyambe’s story and the two became close friends. He learned that after Nyambe, encouraged by her TikTok followers, started a GoFundMe, her original goal of $5,000 was blown away by the $58,000 raised through donations from viewers in just two months. Most of the donations, Nyambe noted, were between $5 and $10, meaning that thousands of people were invested in her cause and contributed in small ways to help her succeed.

With the money, Nyambe resolved to provide the village with boreholes so they could have clean drinking water. The villagers were still skeptical of this newcomer.

“They thought I was a witch,” Nyambe said. “They thought the water was poisoned. How could I live in a mud hut and have enough money to provide boreholes?”

Throughout the Q&A, Nyambe spoke consistently of resilience, passion and kindness. Despite the backlash, she persists, because she knows she is helping people, she said.

On any given day, she could be rescuing a 10-year-old girl from child marriage and paying off her debts, building classrooms and dining halls for her students or bringing four grocery carts full of food back to her school to cook for her hundreds of children. She documents all of this on TikTok, where her 4 million followers eagerly watch and support her content.

Nyambe hopes she can be an inspiration for women – especially women of color – to pursue their dreams.

The discussion was about half an hour, but Schmitt and Nyambe assured the audience the full story is laid out in detail in the book. Before wrapping up the event, Schmitt asked the audience a question:

“Do you guys want to help us make a TikTok?”

Cheers and laughter filled the room as students stood to wave to the phone Schmitt was panning around the room. After the event, students purchased copies of “Under a Zambian Tree” to support Nyambe’s mission and discover more about her journey.

“They’ve changed so many people’s lives,” said Nikki Rosen, a first-year political science major. “It’s very inspiring.”

When asked about the impact she wanted to leave with the Northeastern community, Nyambe reiterated the importance of kindness.

“I always say this, but kindness is free — anyone can be kind,” Nyambe said. “You don’t have to have a lot of money, a ton of abilities, a bunch of connections. You can be kind and change someone’s life.”