Ellie’s Journey and the Birth of Her Journey to School

“Nevertheless, she persisted” is more than a rallying cry.

For us at Her Journey to School (HJTS), it is a lived truth,  a testament to the resilience of girls who refuse to let circumstance choose their future.

It is also the story of our Founder and Managing Director, Eliakunda “Ellie” Kaaya, whose path from a small village in Tanzania to global stages continues to shape the heartbeat of our mission.

Let’s Talk About The NOs in Our Lives. 

Ellie graduated from high school and the Kisa Project in 2013 with a bold dream: to study in the United States.
She did everything right, TOEFL, ACT, applications supported by mentors and partner organizations. But the doors did not open. Instead, she enrolled at St. Augustine University of Tanzania, where she earned a degree in sociology.

At university, she dared to run for student body president, a position many told her a woman could not hold. She lost the election, but not her conviction.
She redirected her energy into leading a community entrepreneurship project, proving that leadership is not a title; it is service.

Visa rejections came again in 2016 and early 2018. Each “no” felt heavy, but Ellie held onto one truth:
Every closed door teaches you something  and every girl deserves to learn how to keep knocking.

Ellie was a student over a decade ago when Jory visited Tanzania – and in New York in October, 2018 with Jory and his wife, Jill. Jory is one of Ellie’s sponsors, taught Ellie how to use a computer and sponsored the first Her Journey to school website. https://herjourneytoschool.org/ 

The Door That Finally Opened

In September 2018, her visa was approved.
She boarded a plane to the United States, wide-eyed and sleepless, stepping into experiences she had only imagined.
She visited iconic places like the Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, and the Rocky Mountains.Things she only saw others doing, places she only dreamt of being.. 
She reunited with the people whose belief in her helped her stay in school. And she spoke at events hosted by She’s the First and AfricAid, Raised Funds and shared her story of perseverance and the power of education.
But nothing prepared her for what came next.

Meeting Michelle Obama: “Ellie, believe it.”

Ellie was invited to the Obama Foundation offices in New York for a roundtable with young women leading girls’ education work around the world.
When Michelle Obama walked into the room, everything stopped.
Mrs. Obama listened to each young woman’s story. She knew their names. She understood their work. When Ellie hugged her and whispered, “I cannot believe it,” Michelle paused, held Ellie by the shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and said:

“Ellie, believe it.”

That moment became a turning point,  a confirmation of the power of visibility, affirmation, and representation for girls everywhere.
Months later, on International Women’s Day, Michelle Obama posted their photo with a message praising Ellie’s leadership. 255,000 people saw that post  and many saw a village girl from Nkoarisambu become a global advocate.

From Personal Journey to Collective Purpose

Ellie returned home with a renewed sense of responsibility. Inspired by the girls she met, the challenges she had lived, and the trust leaders had placed in her, she founded Her Journey to School (HJTS),  an organization built on the simple belief that:
When a girl is supported, believed in, and given freedom to dream, she rises and brings her whole community with her.
Today, HJTS works across Tanzania to:
keep girls in school
fight child marriage
support adolescent mothers
improve menstrual health and dignity
engage communities in shifting harmful norms
ensure girls know their rights and their worth

Our programs Ndoto ya Binti, Beyond the Pad Initiative, The Future We Build and Her Village Initiative draw directly from Ellie’s lived experience: the barriers she faced and the mentors who shaped her.

The Ripple Effect of Belief

Growing up, Ellie was told by her brothers that her future was to be someone’s wife.
After witnessing her journey from rejections to the United Nations to Michelle Obama’s embrace, those same brothers sent their daughters to school.That is the power of one girl’s courage.
That is the impact Her Journey to School fights for every day.

What Comes Next

Ellie continues to represent Tanzania on global platforms, from the World Youth Forum in Egypt to the Mandela Washington Fellowship. At every stage, she carries the voices of the girls we serve reminding the world that dreams rooted in hard places still bloom.

“Believe it” is no longer just Michelle Obama’s message to Ellie.

It is the message we pass on to every girl in our programs:

Believe in your voice.
Believe in your right to learn.
Believe in a life beyond the limits placed on you.
And when the world tells you to stop,  persist anyway.

With Gratitude

Ellie extends deep appreciation to:
Mentors from AfricAid/GLAMI and She’s the First/ Girl Rising  
The Scholars she once mentored
The climbing group and Rotarians who believed in her since 2018 
Her U.S.  and Canadian family who supported her education
Her global community of partners and Rotarians
The friends and family who never stopped cheering her on. 

And to the girls of Tanzania  the heart of this work,  she says:

“Your story does not end where it begins.
You have every right to dream boldly.
Believe it.”