By Correspondent Friday Simbaya – Iringa
IN Iringa, a quiet but profound transformation is taking place for children and young people with disabilities—and for the families who care for them.
Through ‘We Care’, a three-year initiative (2022–2025) funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), three implementing partners—COPE, CALL Africa, and IBO Italia—are working to strengthen the region’s ability to provide inclusive, quality services across prevention, diagnosis, rehabilitation, education, and family livelihoods.
According to Eleonora Bolliger, a volunteer with COPE, the heart of WE CARE rests on a simple promise: no child should be left behind because services are too far away, too fragmented, or too costly for ordinary families and congenital disabilities should be prevented.
She explained that the consortium’s approach is multisectoral. It reinforces health and rehabilitation services in and around Iringa; equips frontline workers and community volunteers with practical tools; supports parents and caregivers with training and small loans; and connects schools, clinics, and civil society so that children are identified early, referred correctly, and supported consistently.
“COPE has been working in Tanzania for 20 years in fields including health, child protection, education, and social inclusion. Today we are celebrating the final inclusive sports tournament under WE CARE, held in 12 schools across Mufindi, Kilolo and Iringa District Councils,” Ms Bolliger said.
She noted that both children with and without disabilities took part in different sports—including football, volleyball, netball, wheelchair basketball, and goalball—breaking barriers and promoting inclusion.
“The project trained 40 teachers in special needs education in August 2024, and by March this year, more than 798 children had already participated in inclusive sports,” (In march a first torunament took place, with the participation of 798 kids; but overall, every week more than 575 students are involved in inclusive sport activities) she added.
Steven Sanga, the Iringa Regional Cultural and Sports Officer, commended the three NGOs for implementing the project in the region. Children who participated in the sports activities also expressed gratitude, saying the initiative had given them confidence and joy.
At the community level, CALL Africa, a long-standing Iringa-based organisation, anchors much of the daily work—mobilising families, running disability and nutrition activities, and convening regular meetings with district and regional officials. Recent updates show the project team conducting microcredit and business-skills sessions for parents across Iringa’s three districts, alongside quarterly coordination forums to review progress and resolve challenges.
COPE—Cooperazione Paesi Emergenti— draws on its extensive experience from its Nyololo base in Iringa, where it has long run health and child-focused programmes. Under WE CARE has provided training on ante – natal care services to health personnel across 8 health facilities in the region, to improve the quality of antenatal care and the prevention of disabilities caused by unattended pregnancies. Additionally, COPE is responsible for the inclusive sport activities introduced in 12 schools across the region by 2 local coaches.
IBO Italia complements these efforts by providing technical expertise in inclusive education, accessibility, and social inclusion. Working with Tanzanian counterparts, disability federations, and health providers, IBO underscores WE CARE’s central mission: ensuring children with disabilities can access high-quality services, supported by improved skills, facilities, and social acceptance.
While WE CARE is coordinated internationally by L’Africa Chiama with COPE and IBO Italia as core partners, in Iringa its success rests on local faces. The three NGOs’ field teams, health workers, parents’ groups, and disability advocates who are translating policy into practice.
The initiative also connects with national disability federations and local hospitals, ensuring community-level progress is backed by clinical expertise and rights-based advocacy.
Beyond its technical achievements, WE CARE places strong emphasis on dignity. Awareness campaigns and parents’ networks are challenging stigma, encouraging early care-seeking, and normalising the inclusion of children with disabilities in schools, markets, and places of worship. As families gain confidence—and financial resilience through livelihood support—the future for their children grows brighter.
With its final year underway in 2025, WE CARE’s legacy is expected to be a stronger, better-connected local system: trained personnel, standardised tools, empowered families, and an inclusive ethos embraced by schools, clinics, and community leaders. In a region where distance and poverty have long limited access to rehabilitation and special needs services, that legacy could prove decisive for a generation of children in Iringa.
Ends
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