Future of Tanzania

Future of Tanzania began with one summer class and has become a program with its own teaching team each season. Voice of Calling teachers teach Python and machine learning, live over Zoom, to students at E3Empower in Tanzania, and help them use AI to look at problems in their own communities.

What a season looks like

Python first. For the first two weeks we focus on the basics: data types, loops and functions. Students solve CodingBat problems and finish Sololearn courses for homework. Many earned Sololearn Python certificates, and you can see their pride.

Then real projects. Students build programs: rock-paper-scissors, a music player, a number guessing game, a scientific calculator and hangman. Watching a few lines of code turn into a working program, they started to believe in what they could do.

Then machine learning. We start with Google Teachable Machine, where students train their own model. Then we move to Google Colab, work with datasets and train models that make predictions. On the final day we discuss how AI could help solve problems in Africa, and the students imagined what technology could change in their own communities.

What happened next

We never met in person, but the classes felt close. Students wrote heartfelt goodbye messages. After the classes they began teaching younger children at the E3Empower center, and another organization has started working with them on web development.

The learning site

Students use a learning site built by our volunteers, with Python lessons, a machine learning section, and an AI project in which students look at issues such as water, infrastructure, well-being and economy. Each season’s head project leaders are credited on the site.