Magessa Deogratias George or George Magessa as popularly known on social media (born 26 April 1983) is a Tanzanian Educationist, Philanthropist, and Founder of the Foundation for Improving Education Outcome of the Needy Students (FIEN Foundation), Winner of Badger award 2018, and Researcher at 60 Decibels. George was born at Natta village, located in the Serengeti District of Mara Region. Graduated with a bachelor's degree of Education in Languages and Management in 2011 and a Masters of Science in Human Resource Management in 2015 at Mzumbe University.
In 2005, George opted for a low-paying job as a teacher; this gave him the opportunity to know constraints for equal and quality education in Tanzania. As a teacher and Academic Master, he managed to improve students’ academic performance at Tushikamane Secondary School through remedial classes, guidance, and counselling programs with the assistance of his fellow teachers. As a result of effective teaching in the English Language, in 2013 two students from his English class won East Africa Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) Essay Writing Awards. As a researcher, he discovered that the majority of secondary school students who perform poorly in school hail from a disadvantaged background. They do not have the resources to access transportation to school, go to sleep hungry, and cannot access medical services. As such, George established his nonprofit organization to support disadvantaged students to Succeed in School.
George has attended various International leadership programs, including the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) in 2016 at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya and Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF) in 2018 at the University of Wisconsin Madison (UW) in the USA where he won the Badger Award.