Tanzanian-American students explain ways to harness potential of Western-educated diaspora for national development

Many countries worldwide have utilised their diaspora community to expedite their country’s technological and economic advancements.

Knowledge importation has been instrumental in the blood-delivering drones project in Rwanda and the founding of the NALA remittance app by the Stanford-educated Tanzanian tech entrepreneur, Benjamin Fernandes.

As nations across the globe vie for technological supremacy, it is clear that the diaspora population holds a crucial role in this pursuit.

Atlanta, a prominent city in the southern United States, hosts several world-renowned universities.

A number of Tanzanian students have enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes there, driven by the hope of leveraging their acquired skills and knowledge to make a positive impact back home.

Hanifa Maswali is a Tanzanian American and a senior at Spelman College, where she is pursuing a double major in Biology (B.Sc.) and International Studies (B.A.).

She plans to attend medical school and ultimately become a doctor.

Born in America of Tanzanian parents, she has remained close to her roots and has made multiple trips to Tanzania, and in doing so she has learnt in detail the dire situation of maternal health that is still a challenge to women in Tanzania.

“Many pregnant women in Tanzania face issues during their pregnancy; some lead to death. As a Tanzanian American woman, I am passionate about being part of the solution and that is why I am studying to become a doctor,” she said.

She hopes that she can be allowed to practice in Tanzania and one of the ways that can be a possibility is through permitting dual citizenship.

She said that will allow her to also immerse herself in Tanzania’s rich culture and be close to her ancestral land but also be part of the diaspora that stimulates the economy back home.

READ: Beyond remittances: Leveraging diaspora for economic growth

Hanifa continues to embrace her cultural heritage, staying true to Tanzanian cuisine, music, language, and traditional way of life.

She has a deep passion for cooking, effortlessly preparing flavourful stewed pilau, delicious Swahili samosas, and soft chapatis, all while enjoying the energetic tunes of Diamond Platnumz blasting through her speakers.

This connection to her roots keeps her close to her motherland—a place she dreams of contributing to as part of the new diaspora generation that will play a key role in the nation’s development.

Linda from Moshi Tanzania is part of the surging number of Tanzanians in American universities.

A major in biology, she is still in her first year with options to explore which field she would like to focus on in her studies.

She is adamant that Tanzania is not yet fully harnessing the potential of its diaspora community, unlike some other countries that have effectively tapped into this valuable resource.

She emphasised that the significance of Tanzanians living abroad dates back to World War II, when Tanzanians who fought on foreign soil witnessed other nations striving for independence.

Upon returning home, they played a pivotal role in inspiring their fellow countrymen to also fight for Tanzania's independence.

Linda insists that Tanzanians abroad are not in competition with their fellow Tanzanians back home but rather they are allies in moving the country forward.

She aspires to make a meaningful contribution to Tanzania's healthcare sector, which is in urgent need, either by providing direct medical care or focusing on public health initiatives such as vaccination programmes.

In the long term, she hopes to mentor young Tanzanians interested in science and the medical field, using her knowledge and experience to nurture a new generation of professionals who will strengthen and advance the country’s healthcare system.

Born in Tanzania and raised in the US, Linda emphasises the significance of dual citizenship, saying that it allows Tanzanians broader opportunities while maintaining ties with their home country.

She is concerned that this lack of access limits Tanzanians' ability to seize international opportunities that others often enjoy, hindering their potential for growth and development on a global scale.

“It’s a hard choice when you have to choose between your country and opportunities abroad, and I feel like if we allow some kind of recognition, it will allow Tanzanians to venture out and seek opportunities and knowledge that they can contribute back home,” she added.

Theo Minja is a Morehouse College business administration major with a concentration in marketing & Sales and a Minor in Entrepreneurship.

A California resident and Tanzanian native, despite the long flights between the two nations, he has always cherished going back home to visit family and friends.

He has broad plans to venture and use his education attained at Morehouse to get into business in Tanzania; he also has plans to build schools so that children can have access to quality education.

Theo asserts the importance of education, saying if you have education, you stand a better chance to do things that can impact the world.

“We young people who have been blessed with having education in America, we must make sure we do not take it for granted; we must take it and impact our country,” he mentioned.

He also hopes to build places of worship and help young people get on the right path.

Theo is a young man with ambitious dreams for Tanzania, the country where his grandfather was born and laid to rest.

“My grandfather was a businessman and he left land and I hope I can develop it as my way of honouring him,” he said.

Joey Rugemalira is from Dar es Salaam; he is a Computer Science Major at Georgia Institute of Technology, and he hopes to become a software engineer once he is done with his master’s studies.

He envisions the future where he will set up funds for Tanzanians who would like to pursue computer engineering abroad, noting that studies in America are very expensive.

“The way the world is moving right now, computer science is very important and Tanzania should do its best to keep up with the world,” he said.

He looks forward to a time when Tanzania will accept dual citizenship so that Tanzanians who live abroad can effortlessly get back to their roots.

He encourages Tanzanians to attain education abroad whenever they can, noting that Kenyans and Rwandans are grabbing every possible opportunity and it is time we do the same.

“There are very big communities of Kenyans and other countries here in America studying, but I have been here for a while and hardly see Tanzanian students,” he said.

Without Dr Frank Minja, his mentor and Associate Professor of Neuroradiology at the Emory University School of Medicine, Joey wouldn’t have met other Tanzanian students.

He hopes Tanzanian students can form a strong association so that together they can bring their collective thoughts and ideas on how to contribute to Tanzanians using the education they get in the United States.

Becki M’mari, originally from the Kilimanjaro region, is a second-year student at Emory University, pursuing a double major in neuroscience and African studies while also on a pre-medical track.

She expects to get to medical school after she bags her master’s degree.

Tanzania is her second home, where most of her family members live and she hopes to make an impact in the medical field.

Though her Kiswahili is not as good as she hopes it would be, she is still very much in touch with her family back home.

She is interested in dealing with autism and maternal healthcare, learning about racial disparity and how maternal health affects more black women and hopes one day she will go back to her motherland and be part of improving the healthcare system.

Becki lost her dual citizenship when she turned 18 years old.

At 19, she hopes installing dual citizenship will be a great way to connect young people in the diaspora with their counterparts in Tanzania and enable knowledge sharing and establish greater connection.