Mwanaasha’s Story 

Growing up in Kisarawe, Tanzania, Mwanaasha was a bright and happy student who loved school and dreamed of attending university. When she developed a brain tumour requiring surgery which left her with sight and hearing impairments, everything changed. 

 Without any teachers who understood sign language or resources to help include her in education, Mwanaasha was prevented from learning alongside her peers, and eventually left school without finishing her education. 

Although she was uncertain of her future, Mwanaasha was determined to build a career and become independent. She looked for ways to start her own small business and started learning how to make soap.  

When Mwanaasha met Sense International, her opportunities opened up. Through our vocational training projects she learned skills like financial management and received an investment to found her own soaps and detergents business alongside her sister-in-law. 

“When I was a child, it was my biggest dream to become a leader… If I could get the chance to be a child again, I would say “Mwanaasha, go and try, dare to act, nothing is impossible under the sun.””  

Mwanaasha

Mwanaasha’s business began to thrive, even opening a second shop, and enabling Mwanaasha to become financially independent. Despite perceptions of the abilities of a young woman with deafblindness, Mwanaasha is now a respected businesswoman in her community, supporting herself and her young family, and has great confidence in her abilities to do anything. 

Passionate about building a world whether people with deafblindness can access opportunities, Mwanaasha is now leader of an organisation of people with deafblindness ‘‘Viziwi Wasioona Tanzania’ (In English: ‘Deafblindness Tanzania’). Her dream is of a world without barriers, where communities are inclusive and every person with deafblindness has the right to live, learn, and thrive 

Sense International supports people with deafblindness and complex disabilities around the world to access the opportunities everyone deserves. Help us to break down barriers so that more people like Mwanaasha can unlock their extraordinary.