Health and education, spoken aloud, for young people who are blind or visually impaired.
SautiLume is an AI-powered voice platform that gives blind and visually impaired young people in Kenya private, verified answers about their health and education, by voice alone, in English or Kiswahili. No reading, no typing, and nothing stored.
SautiLume (say sah-OO-tee loom) means “voice of light”: sauti is Kiswahili for voice, and lume means light.
No typing. No screen. No trace left behind.
"When she presses Exit, it's as if the conversation never happened."
*People with visual impairment across the WHO African Region, including 5.9 million who are blind. Source: WHO Regional Office for Africa.
Health information and learning materials were never made for people who cannot see print.
For blind and visually impaired young people in Kenya, that means private questions asked out loud to a parent, teacher or stranger, and lessons that pass them by. SautiLume answers both, in one private voice.
Health
Private, verified health answers spoken back in English or Kiswahili, with real referrals to health facilities, mental health support and helplines, and nothing stored.
Education
Accessible learning by voice, co-designed with special needs teachers and tested with learners, so that a blind or visually impaired student can learn, revise and take part on equal terms.
less likely to have basic reading and numeracy skills: children with disabilities, compared with their peers. UNICEF, 2021
of published books are ever made in formats blind readers can use. World Blind Union, via UNDP
the odds of experiencing violence: children with disabilities, compared with other children. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 2022
- Health learning, linked to class. Verified health answers connect to the topics learners meet in class, such as Integrated Science.
- Learning support by voice. Explanations and revision spoken step by step, with hints before answers.
- Accessible maths and science. Spoken maths and described diagrams, built with teachers who adapt lessons every day.
- Wellbeing and safety. Support for stress and low mood, with a clear path to a counsellor, a trusted adult or a helpline.
Built to fit Kenya's School Health Policy (2018), the Sector Policy for Learners and Trainees with Disabilities (2018), the Persons with Disabilities Act (2025), the WHO and UNESCO Health Promoting Schools standards, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Press once, then just talk.
Press and speak
One big button. A chime tells you it's your turn. No login and no typing.
Hear a verified answer
In English or Kiswahili, from a library reviewed by health professionals and special needs educators.
Get real help
Verified helplines and services only. SautiLume never invents a number or a facility.
Then it forgets
Say goodbye, and nothing is left behind on the device.
Works in Chrome, Edge, Safari and Samsung Internet, on Android phones, iPhones and computers. Add it to your Home Screen and it opens like an app.
SautiLume cannot leak, sell, or be forced to hand over what it never keeps.
For a young person asking a private question, a stored conversation can be physical danger the moment someone else picks up the phone. So SautiLume keeps no names, no audio, no transcripts, and no summaries.
Safety by design
Nothing is stored, so there is nothing for a parent, teacher, or abuser to find on the phone afterward.
Legal strength
Zero retention is how we put the data-minimisation principle of Kenya's Data Protection Act 2019 into practice, including its stronger protections for children's data.
Built to forget
Most technology is built to remember. SautiLume forgets, on purpose, every time.
Built by people who know both sides of this gap: the clinic and the classroom.
Dr. Wanjirũ Kigathi
Wanjirũ has spent more than a decade shaping Africa's health systems, from continental standards and national law to the hospital floor. She holds two master's degrees: an MSc in Health Economics and Policy from the University of Nairobi, and an MSc in Global Health from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, where she was a Commonwealth Scholar. She taught herself software and AI development to build SautiLume's first prototype, and has volunteered in schools for the blind for nearly twenty years.
- Africa CDC, IGAD and Kenya. Coordinated Africa-wide consultations on the African Health Data Governance Framework (2024), co-led the IGAD regional health data policy across seven countries, and contributed to Kenya's Digital Health Act 2023.
- Kitui County. Digitised the medicine supply chain across 43 health facilities, cutting stock-outs by 30%, and now leads the digital transformation of Kitui County Referral Hospital.
- AI research and teaching. IDIA Health AI Fellow with Qhala; her benchmark found seven language models 17 to 35 points weaker in Kiswahili than in English. Author of a continental AI curriculum for health professionals at Amref International University.
- Health economics. Helped cost Kenya's SHIF Essential Benefits Package and developed the Kenya Global Fund Strategy Framework 2023 to 2028.
“The young people I have worked with were never limited by their abilities. They were limited by systems that weren't designed with them in mind.”
Esther Bikeri
Esther is a special needs education teacher with a Bachelor of Education in Special Needs Education from Mount Kenya University. At SautiLume she leads accessibility and inclusive education, bringing learners' voices into every design decision.
- Kitui Comprehensive School for the Visually Impaired, 2025 to present. Special needs teacher of Mathematics and Integrated Science. Creates tactile and Braille learning resources, and leads ICT, assistive technology, and STEM and robotics activities.
- Machakos Technical Institute for the Blind, 2023 to 2024. Trainer of adult learners in rehabilitation and communication skills, supporting the Braille, transcription, and orientation and mobility departments, and giving guidance and counselling.
Early stage, deliberately careful, building brick by brick.
- Now
Working voice app and live demo. Health questions and the first education questions answered end to end, with verified content and zero data retention.
- Next
Verified referral network and offline voice. Real facilities and helplines, starting in Kitui, Kiambu and Nairobi, and speech recognition that works offline in English and Kiswahili.
- Next
Accessible learning by voice. Explanations, revision and maths and science support, co-designed with teachers and tested with learners, with the consent of schools and parents or guardians.
- Pilot
Kitui, Kiambu and Nairobi counties. Testing continuously with the visually impaired young people SautiLume is built for.
Ready to make health and education truly accessible?
We welcome funders, governments, schools, technology companies, and disability, health and education organisations who share our mission. Tell us how you'd like to work with SautiLume.
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Email ussautilumeltd@gmail.com
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Visit HQNairobi, Kenya
Frequently asked questions
Does SautiLume cover education as well as health?
Yes. SautiLume is a health and education platform. Health is where we started, with verified answers by voice and real referrals. The demo and app now also answer first questions about learning: revising for exams, books in Braille and audio, exam arrangements, screen readers, maths and science without sight, school fees and the right to education, and careers. With special needs teachers we are building much more: spoken explanations and revision, accessible maths and science, health topics linked to what learners meet in class, and tools that help teachers prepare accessible materials. These learning features are introduced step by step and tested with learners, with the consent of schools and of parents or guardians.
Is SautiLume solely dependent on AI?
No. SautiLume's core answers come from a verified knowledge base: health answers are reviewed by health professionals, and learning content is co-designed with special needs educators. It works even without AI. An optional AI layer can add more natural, conversational responses, but SautiLume is never solely dependent on it. If AI is unavailable, the verified library always has the final say.
Is my data stored when I use SautiLume?
No. SautiLume keeps no names, no audio, no transcripts, and no summaries. Once a conversation ends, nothing is left behind on the device.
Can I use SautiLume on an iPhone or an Android phone?
Yes. The voice demo works in Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari and Samsung Internet, on Android phones, iPhones, iPads and computers. Press the big button once, then just talk: after each chime it is your turn, you can say health or school, and you say goodbye when you are done. Firefox cannot listen to voices yet, so please use one of the other browsers. To keep SautiLume on your phone like an app: on an iPhone, open the demo in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen; on Android, open the demo in Chrome, tap the menu, then Add to Home screen or Install app. Our Android app is in testing with pilot schools, and an iPhone app is planned.
How does SautiLume work with schools?
We work alongside teachers, guidance and counselling departments and school health programmes, never around them. Before any activity with learners, we obtain written permission from the school and consent from parents or guardians, and learners are asked in a format they can access, such as Braille, large print or audio. We do not record learners or keep notes that identify them.
Is SautiLume free of charge?
Yes. SautiLume is free of charge for all users. Our plan is to sustain the platform through institutional licensing with health, education, and disability-focused partners.
Does SautiLume replace a doctor, a health facility or a teacher?
No. SautiLume gives verified information and, when needed, verified referrals to real public and private health facilities, mental health support, counselling, and pharmacies. Its learning features support teachers and the curriculum; they do not replace them. It never invents a phone number, a diagnosis, or a fact.