Who is Songambele?

Our story dates back 23 years when one of the founding members, Faustina, was in an accident that left her with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Being told she would never be able to walk again as a young woman was a death sentence. Alongside this life-changing disability, when she and her partner found out she was also pregnant, he left her alone to raise their child. This courageous woman went through an experience that transformed her life completely. Instead of giving up, she made a choice “to move forward” towards a life of purpose. From her vision, the seed that gave birth to the Songambele Initiative Organization fell on fertile soil.

Songambele is a non-governmental organization in Tanzania, under the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, the Elderly and Children, with a registration number ooNGO/00010039. It is a grassroots community-based organization operating in Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Manyara and Tanga, formed and run by women with disabilities irrespective of race, culture, religion, or social status, who themselves had faced discrimination. Stigma attached to disability affects access for women and girls with disability to health services, education, employment and how their communities and social groups, such as the church, treat them.

Our mission:

To promote and encourage good health, education, wellbeing and social inclusion for women, girls and children with disabilities in Tanzania, with a vision for woman, girls & children with disabilities being able to live independently with dignity & happiness.