Support Services Unlock Opportunities for Women Caregivers of Children with Disabilities

Early each morning in Madale, on the outskirts of Tanzania’s commercial hub of Dar es Salaam, parents and caregivers arrive at a small centre seeking support for children with cerebral palsy.

For many families, the centre provides something they previously lacked - a safe space where children with disabilities can receive care and therapy while their mothers gain time to work, rest or rebuild their livelihoods.

Rehema Simfukwe, a 32-year-old entrepreneur, singer and mother of a child with cerebral palsy, founded the initiative after navigating care and therapy services for her own daughter.

 From a mother’s lived experience to action

Soon after completing a Bachelor’s degree in Dar es Salaam, Simfukwe welcomed her first child, Dorcas. In the months that followed, she noticed developmental delays and recurring health complications. After several hospital visits, doctors diagnosed Dorcas with cerebral palsy.

“Looking after a child with cerebral palsy requires constant attention,” she says. “Your whole day is dedicated to caring for the child, with frequent hospital visits that often take up the entire day.”

Eventually, Simfukwe left her job to care for her daughter full time. During therapy visits, she began interacting with other parents and realized that many mothers were facing similar challenges.

“We weren’t getting the support we needed,” she recalls. “At times, it felt like there was not always clear guidance from support services, and I began to notice how many women were isolated and exhausted.”

In 2025, Simfukwe launched the Dorcas Initiative, a community centre providing care and therapy services for children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.

The centre began with 10 children from the surrounding community. Children attend during the day, allowing caregivers time to work or manage other responsibilities.

“In that time, a parent can go to work knowing their child is safe,” Simfukwe explains.

 UN Women support expands care services

Through the Women’s Leadership and Economic Rights (WLER) project, supported by the Government of Finland, UN Women partnered with ADD International and the Movement of Women with Disabilities (MOWADITA) network to expand the centre’s services as part of broader efforts to strengthen the care economy and support women caregivers to pursue leadership and economic opportunities.

“As a network of women with disabilities, we recognized that without addressing unpaid care, many women remain excluded from economic opportunities,” said Ms. Nuru Awadh, Executive Director of MOWADITA. “This partnership helps ensure that care systems are more inclusive and responsive to their needs.”

Project support enabled the establishment of a therapy tent and the provision of rehabilitation equipment, increasing the centre’s capacity from 20 children at a time to serving up to 70 children per day, with seven caregivers and two medical professionals providing daily care and therapy services.

Because caring for a child with a disability often limits women’s ability to engage in income-generating activities, access to these reliable support services allows mothers to work, start businesses or expand existing ones.

“One mother sells perfumes and has been able to open her own shop,” Simfukwe says. “Others have returned to work as teachers, tailors or entrepreneurs.”

The centre also provides counselling, financial management and digital marketing training to caregivers, most of whom are women, helping to strengthen their businesses and financial independence.

The WLER project, implemented from 2021 to 2025 in six regions of Tanzania (Dar es Salaam, Pwani, Mtwara, Lindi, Arusha and Singida), aimed to advance women’s leadership at the local level while promoting women’s economic empowerment and more equitable care systems.

In partnership with local authorities and civil society organizations, the project addressed structural barriers that limit women’s participation in economic and public life.

Women entrepreneurs were supported through Village Community Banks (VICOBA) and other community groups, receiving training in entrepreneurship, financial literacy, business development and digital marketing.

The project placed a strong emphasis on disability inclusion, ensuring that women living with disabilities were supported to access both economic opportunities and leadership platforms. Over the course of implementation, 484 women strengthened their capacity to advocate for gender- and disability-responsive policies, contributing to more inclusive planning and budgeting at the local government level.

Seven thousnd women, including women with disabilities, enhanced their ability to participate in public life, amplifying their voice in decision-making spaces.

Economic empowerment remained a central pillar of the project, with 1,221 women and adolescent girls accessing improved livelihood opportunities, strengthening their financial independence and resilience.

Enabling more opportunities for caregivers

Looking ahead, Simfukwe hopes similar centres can be established in other communities to support children with disabilities and their caregivers.

“There are many families who need services like this,” she says. “If communities have more centres, parents will be able to access support closer to where they live.”

She also hopes to expand the initiative further in the coming years, creating more spaces where caregivers can find practical support and connect with others facing similar challenges.