Empower Future Scientists: Support Tanzanian Students

I'm Mindy Rostal, a veterinarian who now does research science in Africa. I've been working in Tanzania for the past four years. During that time, I've worked very closely with five students who were working on my project there. Unfortunately, due to events way beyond any of our control, they suddenly lost their funding. With one more year of work left on their degrees there is no certainty that any of them will be able to complete their projects and finish. I'm asking for your help in making it possible for these students to be supported and finish their degrees. This will have a huge impact on their lives and that of their families. And they are my friends and colleagues and deserve to have what was promised to them.

Please let me introduce my friends, who need your support:

Judith and Buliga are both Masters of Science students studying laboratory technology who are attending Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College University (KCMCU) and are optimizing new, lower-cost tests to diagnose a tick-borne disease. They need support for their living expenses, tuition and to do their project (~ $17,000 each).

Judith Njau

From Judith: Having the opportunity to complete this degree means the world to me and my family. Coming from a background where higher education was not always accessible, this funding represents not just a personal achievement but a beacon of hope for my entire family. It symbolizes the realization of dreams that were once considered unattainable. For my family, my success is a source of immense pride and inspiration.

For society, supporting my education is an investment in the future of medical science. By funding my studies, you are helping to equip me with the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to critical research that can save lives and improve global health. Your support would not only change my life but also have the potential to benefit countless others through the advancements I hope to achieve in my field. Thank you for considering my request and for any support you can provide. Your generosity will have a lasting impact, not just on my life but on the lives of many who will benefit from the advancements in medical science that this degree will help me achieve.

Buliga Mujaga

From Buliga: Receiving this financial support would be immensely beneficial in achieving my academic and professional goals. Being the first in my family to attend college, I face considerable financial challenges. This support would ease some of these burdens, allowing me to dedicate more time to my studies and research. It would also enhance my skills in assay development, proposal writing, and overall research capabilities.

In the long term, I aim to earn a Ph.D. and work for major organizations, where I can apply and further develop the skills gained during my postgraduate studies, thanks to this financial support. I am deeply passionate about Immunology and committed to making significant contributions to the field. With this support, I believe I can achieve my full potential and make a meaningful impact.

Thank you for considering my request.

Elichilia Shao is a physician (remember this is a bachelor's degree in Tanzania) is now getting his PhD from KCMCU. He's in his last year of his degree at KCMCU and needs about $8,000 to support his living expenses. I joined him and our field team in the field to enroll people from the community to test for exposure to a tick-borne disease as part of our project.

From Elichilia: During the study we also measured people blood pressure and blood sugar as innovative way of prevention of both infectious and non-infectious diseases. This is one of my dreams coming true because my passion is preventive medicine. I became an advocate for preventive medicine after witnessing people who died too young in every morning rounds in internal medicine - all due to preventable causes. The most impactful moment was when a friend from my high school passed away from renal failure because of uncontrolled high blood pressure. I believe this PhD will give me a better platform to implement my preventive strategies through a One Health approach, my motto is we are not healthy until our environments and our communities are healthy.

Ray Kayaga is also in the last year of his PhD at Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) in Arusha and needs about $8,000 to support his living expenses as well.

From Ray: Myself, Elichilia, Ester and our team spent about 18 months in the field and lab to do this research. We worked in wildlife protected areas as well as at households in communities across the study area. We've collected so much data, but now we need support to complete our analyses. In order to finish my PhD at NM-AIST, I need to complete three publications and my thesis, and all these require financial support that I no longer have following termination of funds that were supporting my stipend and research work. Understanding tick-borne diseases requires investigating the complex interactions between people, animals, and the environment to identify risk factors and effective prevention strategies. Our research touches all mentioned aspects and deserve to be shared to the public. With the research-based data from our study, appropriate policies and intervention strategies by the government of Tanzania may be formulated, such as prevention and control strategies.

Ester Lepere is a Masters' student that worked in the fiend on our project and now has a scholarship to the University of Glasgow. Her Masters' project is to do DNA sequencing on the rodent samples she collected while working on my project to help support conservation efforts in the region. This molecular work is quite expensive and she needs about $9,000 to help her be able to come back to Tanzania and complete the testing in the lab at KCRI.

From Ester: Earning a degree in wildlife conservation and successful completion of my research project is incredibly important to me and my community. It will equip me with the skills and knowledge needed to address wildlife conservation challenges and social issues in my country, specifically in my home place in Ngorongoro.

As someone who was born and raised in this area, I have a deep understanding of the local environment and its needs. With this degree, I can provide valuable insights, and make a real difference in my community.

Your support, no matter what the amount, will make a significant impact on my journey and my ability to contribute to the conservation efforts in Tanzania. Thank you for considering my request and for helping me achieve my dreams.

As they cannot fundraise directly in the US, I will be raising these funds and wiring them to a non-profit that I work with in Tanzania, Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute (KCRI), which has agreed to distribute the funds to the students. I have also been working directly with KCRI for the last four years and they have been very good at conducting the project work and I very much trust their director, Prof Blandina Mmbaga to ensure all of these funds are used for the students.

(photo: Ray, Elichilia and Ester with our team and my friend Johana in the field).

Thank you so much for your consideration!

Anything above and beyond the requested amount will be used to support publication of their research (which is required for graduation in Tanzania) and costs about $4,500 per publication to publish in an open-access format so that other Tanzanian researchers can easily access their work.