She Wrote It Down… and Made It Happen

When Stella was eight years old, her mother gave her a simple piece of advice that would shape the rest of her life: 

“If you want something, write it down.”

So, Stella did. She wrote down three dreams: to earn a scholarship, travel beyond Tanzania and be seen on TV one day. 

Years later, after losing her mother while still in Form 1, a teenager and facing financial hardship, those dreams seemed almost impossible, until she joined Asante Africa Foundation’s Youth Livelihood Program (YLP).

What began as a school club became the turning point in her life. 

Through Asante Africa, Stella developed the leadership skills and confidence she had never imagined she possessed. In 2019, she was selected to attend the LEI (YLP) Summit in Nairobi, Kenya – her first trip outside Tanzania. Meeting hundreds of young leaders from across East Africa changed the way she saw herself and what she believed was possible.

“I realized my background did not have to determine my future,” she says.

That experience became the foundation of the scholarship essay that would transform her life. Along with the leadership experience she gained through Asante Africa, she included her YLP certificate as part of her application. She was awarded a scholarship that funded her A-Level education, university studies, and even the medical treatment she needed after being diagnosed with focal dystonia – a neurological condition that affected her dominant hand. Determined not to let the condition define her, Stella taught herself to write with her left hand and completed the essay that opened the next chapter of her life.

Today, Stella is a Psychology and Counselling graduate, a mental health advocate, and the founder of Healing Light Initiative, a registered organization working to increase mental health awareness and support across Tanzania. She has trained more than 4,000 people through community outreach and continues to champion accessible mental health services for young people.

Looking back, Stella can trace every milestone to a single opportunity that created a ripple effect to achieving her dreams. Asante Africa’s YLP built her confidence, gave her leadership skills, and broadened the horizon. A scholarship opened doors and today, one young woman is helping thousands of others find hope and healing.

And that list an eight-year-old girl once wrote down?

She earned the scholarship. She crossed the border. She found her voice.

Now, she is helping others find theirs.