I created ChiTonga AI because millions of Chitonga speakers in Binga, Zimbabwe, and Zambia are being left behind in the digital age. Every day, I see bright students fail because exams are in English. Farmers cannot access market prices or weather updates because apps are in English. Nurses struggle to report patient data. Parents cannot read school letters. Even local enumerators — who speak Chitonga fluently are blocked by English-only forms. I am a maths expert, but I realised the real barrier is not numbers; it is language. Without Chitonga in technology, my community cannot learn, work, or participate in modern life. Existing translation tools like Google Translate do not support Chitonga. No AI speaks our language.
I created ChiTonga AI to change that. I want every Tonga speaker — young or old, educated or not — to open a phone, speak their mother tongue, and get answers. A child should learn in Chitonga. A grandmother should preserve stories in Chitonga. A health worker should save lives without an English dictionary.
This innovation is not for me. It is for every Tonga speaker who has been told their language does not matter. It does matter. And now, AI will prove it.
ChiTonga AI is a mobile-first application that works on any smartphone, even low-end devices. A user opens the app and sees a simple screen with a microphone button. They speak in Chitonga — a question, a sentence, or even a full paragraph. The app converts their speech to text in Chitonga, translates it to English, and displays both versions on screen. Then it speaks the English translation aloud. The reverse also works: English to Chitonga. In practice, a student in Binga holds her father's phone. She speaks into ChiTonga AI: *"Ndilafwa kuyibala mabala a algebra."* (I want to learn algebra terms.) The AI shows the English translation and explains algebra vocabulary in Chitonga. She learns without a teacher. A farmer speaks: *"Mvula yakaoma. Nziindi yainzi?"* (Rain is scarce. What seeds should I plant?) The AI translates and connects to an offline agricultural database, then responds in Chitonga with advice. A nurse at a rural clinic speaks patient symptoms in Chitonga. The AI outputs an English report ready for the district health office. No interpreter needed.
ChiTonga AI is still starting and has not yet launched publicly. However, awareness is growing through word of mouth every time I share the idea with Chitonga speakers in Binga, their excitement spreads. Local students, farmers, and health workers are already asking when they can use it. I am currently building the first prototype, with plans to test with 50 users in Binga within six months.
Since first conceiving ChiTonga AI, I have made several key changes. Originally, I envisioned it only for maths education, but I realized the language barrier affects every part of life — not just classrooms. I then expanded it to support enumeration work, but quickly understood that limiting it to enumerators was still too narrow. Now, ChiTonga AI is for everyone: students, farmers, nurses, parents, elders, and travelers. Any Chitonga speaker, for any purpose. This evolution from a maths tool to a universal translator is the most important modification I have made.
Right now, ChiTonga AI is still in development and not yet available for public trial. However, you can support the effort by sharing this idea with Chitonga speakers, connecting me to potential partners or funders, or helping collect Chitonga voice data. Once the first prototype is ready in the coming months, I will invite early testers in Binga to try it for free. To express interest, you can contact me directly, and I will notify you when the trial begins.
