Hello everyone,

My name is Elitumaini Swai, Founder of Sayansi Ambassadors NGO in Tanzania. My life has been shaped by the power of education and the generosity of those who believed in me. Because of philanthropy, I received some of the world’s best education without student loans or financial stress—and that opportunity changed the trajectory of my life. I believe giving back isn’t only for billionaires. Each of us can think globally and act locally, and this fundraiser is my way of doing exactly that.

This September 6th, I will be running my very first 5K race as a fundraiser for Sayansi Ambassadors. For context, running was always something I feared—growing up with pre-existing medical conditions, I avoided it, choosing comfort over challenge. But this year, for my 25th birthday, I set out to prove to myself that growth often lies outside of comfort. All summer, I’ve trained, improving from 48 minutes for a 5K down to 38 minutes. My hope is to cross the finish line within that 38-minute mark. For me, running has become not just physical training, but a lesson in endurance and resilience—mirroring the same perseverance required to uplift communities through education.

✨ About Sayansi Ambassadors ✨

At Sayansi Ambassadors, we empower students from underprivileged communities by giving them hands-on STEM learning and exposing them to role models—scientists, doctors, and engineers—that they can one day become like.

We do this through yearly outreach to over 20 rural schools in Moshi, Kilimanjaro, currently focusing on Arusha Chini and Mabogini ward, with plans to expand further as we grow and learn from impact stories.

This upcoming year, we are taking an exciting step forward: partnering with the Institute for Humane Education to offer a project-based Solutionery micro-credential course to secondary school teachers. These teachers will be better equipped to nurture the very students we reach in primary schools as they transition into higher education.

Our work is about planting seeds of possibility: showing children that STEM is not a distant dream, but something within their reach.

Over the past 3 years, following the Davis for Peace grant, we’ve been fortunate to receive support from several WPI-affiliated groups such as the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center and the Women’s Impact Network. However, having graduated, those funding avenues have now been exhausted. Accessing international grants for education advancement in developing countries has proven challenging.

Alongside our merchandise fundraising initiatives, I have felt moved to dedicate this race to the work of Sayansi Ambassadors and to open this invitation to everyone in my network to join hands with us in shaping the future of these young learners.

This fundraiser has a goal of $15,000. And to honor the generosity that once changed my life, I am personally matching 20% of every donation up to $2,000. That means your $50 contribution turns into $60 of impact.

We believe deeply in transparency:

Your support will help us keep reaching classrooms, training teachers, and showing students that they, too, can innovate, dream, and become leaders in science and technology.

Every stride I take in this race will remind me of the children running barefoot in rural Tanzania like I once did, chasing dreams bigger than themselves. With your help, I know we can give them the opportunities they deserve.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for joining me on this journey. Together, we can make sure education lights the path for generations to come.

With gratitude,

Elitumaini Swai

Beneficiary, UWC & Davis Scholar, WPI Presidential Merit | STEM Advocate|Founder, Sayansi Ambassadors NGO| Development Engineer AM Batteries