Transforming vulnerabilities into strengths through empowerment
The AHADI Foundation, whose name means ‘promise’ in Swahili, was founded by
Deza Nguembock, a social entrepreneur who has turned her disability into her vital
strength.
Facing the dual discrimination experienced by women with disabilities, including job
insecurity, gender-based violence, and under-representation in decision-making
bodies, AHADI Foundation promotes the development of their socio-economic
leadership, thereby offering paths to empowerment and full autonomy.
We do not seek quotas or special status: we are fully part of society and want to be
valued for our own qualities.
Our experience as women with disabilities represents an unforeseen and
unparalleled human, social, and economic asset.
We aim to demonstrate this to improve the status of women with disabilities without
falling into the pitfalls of stigmatizing and confining positive discrimination.
By connecting women with disabilities from Europe and beyond, all of whom are
inspiring in their own right, AHADI Foundation creates a community of dialogue,
support, and action. The foundation aims to ensure that women with disabilities take
their rightful place in businesses, politics, and public life.
In our performance-centered societies, empowerment involves listening to life stories,
valuing the on-the-ground expertise of those excluded from social life, and creating
tools tailored to their lived reality.
AHADI advocates for the active and concrete involvement of vulnerable individuals in
building solutions that shape our society, with the support of peer supporters.