At National Taiwan University's (NTU) graduation ceremony, Nathan Thadeo Yoashi, a doctoral student in the Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering and the international student representative, shared his remarkable life story. Growing up in a remote mountain village in Tanzania, he walked barefoot 30 minutes each day to collect water from a river, tended cattle and sheep after school, and studied by moonlight at night. Having made his way to NTU, Yoashi said Taiwan gave him not only knowledge, but a warm place he could call home.
Barefoot Water Runs and Moonlit Study Sessions — While Ranking Top Three in Class
Yoashi was born in a small village in Tanzania near Gombe National Park — the site where primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall conducted her landmark research on wild chimpanzees. He recalled growing up in an impoverished household that relied on subsistence farming, where food was scarce and irregular, and on many days, a small piece of sweet potato washed down with water was all he had.
Without shoes, his feet were frequently pierced by thorns as he walked. Each night before bed, his father would use a thick needle to remove the thorns and parasites, then apply salt to the wounds as disinfectant. Despite these hardships, Yoashi never abandoned his studies. He attended school only three days a week — spending the other two working in the fields — yet consistently ranked among the top three students in a class of 150.
A Chance Encounter with Jane Goodall — From Chang Jung Christian University to NTU
Yoashi said his school later hired an English teacher, and eager to improve his language skills, he frequently visited the teacher's home to practice. He became the strongest English speaker in his class. When Dr. Goodall visited the school, Yoashi was selected to serve as translator and deliver a speech on the school's behalf — a moment that caught her attention.
Before leaving, Goodall told him he could seek her help if he ever faced financial difficulties. That promise changed the course of his life. After primary school, Yoashi became the only student to gain admission to a gifted junior secondary school. Though he nearly dropped out due to financial pressure, Goodall's full sponsorship allowed him to complete his education. On her recommendation, he came to Taiwan, enrolling first at Chang Jung Christian University (長榮大學) before being admitted to NTU's Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering.
Learning Mandarin, Farming, and Selling Vegetables — Then Founding an African Student Association
When Yoashi first arrived in Taiwan, he spoke no Mandarin at all, learning the language through church communities. He also studied sustainable agriculture alongside local farmers — growing peanuts in Yunlin, baby corn in Tainan, and rice in Chiayi — and once sold cauliflower at a local market. He recalled with a laugh that elderly vendors at the market often found him charming and admired his white teeth, making him one of the first to sell out his produce each day.
After entering NTU, Yoashi gradually found his footing in research with support from faculty and peers. He then turned his attention to collective action, bringing together students from ten African countries to establish an African Student Association serving the campus's African student community. The association also partnered with WARESA, an international African organization, to host two academic conferences at NTU.
Saving Half His Living Allowance to Fund Education — With a Dream to Build a School Back Home
Yoashi said NTU gave him more than an education — it gave him practical tools to address real-world problems. Through his research and collaborations, he hopes to help his home community tackle soil degradation, agricultural damage, and water resource contamination caused by mining pollution. Upon returning to Tanzania, he realized he was already in a position to help local children, and began setting aside half of his monthly living expenses to sponsor the schooling of five children from his hometown.
He said he is still the boy who survived on half a sweet potato and unfiltered water — the boy who had no electricity, who studied by moonlight and did mathematics in the sand. That he now stands on the stage of an NTU graduation ceremony, he said, is because he is no longer alone. Beside him stand his Taiwanese wife and their son, Ethan.
Closing his remarks, Yoashi offered words of encouragement to the graduating class: do not seek to lead first — learn to serve, and influence will follow naturally. He added that his dream remains to build a school in his home village, so that more children like him might have the chance to change their own destinies.
