Empowering youth, transforming communities.
Tuwalinde na Tuwaelimishe — Protect and Educate Them.
A registered Tanzanian NGO working at the meeting point of education, child protection and community development.
Who we are
Rooted in community, working with those left behind.
Iyanna Foundation is a registered non-governmental organisation under the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children. Our journey began informally in 2018 and was formalised in 2021, working with young people facing hard circumstances across the Arusha and Moshi regions.
We partner with public schools, community structures and grassroots organisations to reach children and families who are too often left behind — through chess clubs and competitions, school support, and programmes for adolescent girls and young mothers. Everything we do is guided by our mission: Tuwalinde na Tuwaelimishe — Protect and Educate.
Our mission
Reach their full potential.
To empower young people in Tanzania to reach their full potential by giving them the tools, resources and opportunities to succeed in every part of life.
Our vision
Empowered, confident, contributing.
A Tanzania where all young people are empowered, confident, and actively contributing to their communities.
Our approach
Prevention, partnership, participation.
We work with communities, not just for them.
Our work is rooted in deep community engagement, participatory learning, and partnership with like-minded organisations and institutions — because solutions designed with a community last longer than solutions handed to it.
We work upstream.
Rather than only responding to crises, we invest in prevention — strengthening the protective factors around a child so that problems like early pregnancy, dropout and violence are less likely to take hold in the first place.
Our objectives
What we set out to do.
1
Protect & support vulnerable children and young mothers
Identifying children at risk and connecting them, through trusted partners, to the care they need.
2
Build cognitive & life skills through chess
Using chess and structured life-skills education to develop critical thinking and good decision-making.
3
Empower families, not just children
Supporting parents with entrepreneurship and community savings so a stable home underpins every child’s progress.
4
Promote reproductive health & life skills
Delivering youth-friendly education that helps young people make informed, healthy choices.
5
Advance STEM & mentorship
Sparking interest in science and technology, with particular support for girls.
6
Strengthen ethical community leadership
Equipping schools, faith leaders and officials to protect children and prevent violence.
Want to be part of it?
Sponsor a child, partner with us, or just say hello — we’d love to hear from you.