It’s a challenge that remains throughout much of Africa, Geissler adds – one that has finally begun to receive attention. “Authentically African science for Africa by Africans hasn’t really materialised,” he says. “In a way, the issue of Africanisation that was so central to Amani is still on the agenda in global health research today.”

There is a chance that the Amani Hill Station could yet play a role in finally realising that decades-old goal. In late 2016, a Tanzanian Minister of Health visited the centre and announced that she would support its restoration. What purpose the resurrected space would serve is still vague: a university campus, an international training centre, a seminar space or – if all else fails – a museum. Those at the lowland station agree, though, that simply “giving it to the forest,” as Mangesho puts it, is not an option.

“It has too much scientific and historical value,” Nkya says. “We cannot just shut it down.”

Whether Amani can once again become a vibrant centre of African-led science depends entirely on sustained political will and funding – neither of which are guaranteed, there or anywhere. But against the odds, the researchers continue to dream. “I’m one of the people who believe that Amani’s resurrection can be a reality,” Mangesho says. “We’re in a low state now, but we’re trying to rise again.”

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