And I wouldn't discount the value of her being a role model for kids, especially girls. Might make them push in directions and achieve things they otherwise wouldn't.

IMO this kind of hyperoptimization will cause more trouble than good. It's cheap and productive just to get humans to advance through any sort of education. This person will almost certainly contribute more than she would have with a 5th grade education.

Let people self-direct, even if not everyone follows an optimal route. It's a numbers game.

One thing they probably don’t need are bad unhappy professionals uninterested in their field. The people from the village know better than us random internet commenters what their heart is in, and they have just as much right as us to pursue their dreams and interests.

The focus on “the market” is a disease which narrows our thinking. For all we know, her language studies might allow her to communicate with many more people and cultures from the outside and bring much more prosperity to the village than an architect.

An important point is that this is not for us to decide. Development doesn't happen by us telling others how to develop, but by giving them the means to develop on their own. Maybe this person finds out that her choice was a mistake, but realistically, I believe that language studies is not the worst choice. There are many languages spoken in Tanzania (and any other african country) some of which are at risk of slowly dying out. Having a background in languages could make the difference in her ability to support her local language, not only to preserve it but to strengthen the confidence and self-image of its speakers which in itself can make a great impact in the development of that region. It could even be that it affects how much parents value their children going to school. We don't know any of this. Only the people living there can figure this out. All we can do is to provide some resources to help them along.

That might be true, but should we clutch our pearls after we killed our villages?

I understand your line of thought, but the individual specifically being talked about is returning to her home to contribute to the success of her community. Literally the exact opposite of what you are complaining about. Seems like this form of support, just providing an opportunity, succeeds in its goal.

People leaving a village or city for other opportunities is nothing new and something pretty much all humanity (and species) experience.

I hope when I am in need and someone thinks about helping me they don't find someone like you, man.

The village is not alive.

What a strange thing to say

If the kids all have better lives, isn't that a good thing? What is noble about an impoverished village where everyone just exists?

It's a good point. If only a fraction of children can go into STEM subjects & can get good in practical knowledge. They can give a lot back to their community by creative problem solving with the limited resources they have!!

I think it's hard to get child curious towards particular domain if they don't get any external push of some sort. I got into computer science because I used to tweak computers & play games in childhood in home computer.