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For Dr. Khadijah Bwanakheri, courage was born from heartbreak and transformed into purpose.
After losing a 14-year-old patient to complications from teen pregnancy, she came to a devastating realization: medicine alone could not save girls who were never given the chance to make informed choices about their bodies and futures.
That moment reshaped her life’s work.
Today, Dr. Bwanakheri is the founder of Safe Haven Foundation, a youth-centered organization dedicated to protecting, educating, and empowering adolescents through comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education, safe spaces, and community-driven programs. In a context where cultural norms often silence conversations around adolescent health, her work challenges stigma and replaces fear with knowledge, dignity, and opportunity.
Through initiatives like Binti Jasiri and Jamii Elimika, Safe Haven supports young people, especially girls, to stay in school, build livelihoods, and reclaim agency over their lives. As a 2025 Global Fellow in Courage, Dr. Bwanakheri is strengthening her leadership, expanding partnerships, and scaling impact across Tanzania and beyond.
Her courage lies not in comfort, but in conviction, choosing every day to protect a generation before tragedy can write their story for them.
Being part of the Global Fellows in Courage has been a deeply transformative experience that has strengthened both my leadership and the work I do through Safe Haven Foundation. It has given me the space to reflect on my journey, refine my vision, and grow in confidence as a leader driving change in adolescent health and empowerment.
Through the fellowship, I have connected with an inspiring network of courageous leaders whose mentorship and support have expanded my perspective and pushed me to think bigger about the impact we can create. The skills I have gained, from strategic storytelling to building sustainable collaborations, continue to guide how we design impactful programs like Binti Jasiri and deepen our reach among young people.
To me, courage is the unwavering commitment to act even when fear and uncertainty surround you. It is not loud or fleeting. It is the steady heartbeat behind every decision to protect, educate, and empower those who have been silenced or overlooked.
I consider myself a courageous person because I chose to transform pain into purpose. Losing a young girl to teen pregnancy pushed me to create Safe Haven Foundation, a movement dedicated to protecting young people’s rights and futures. Every time I fight for girls to stay in school or equip them with skills to rewrite their lives, I choose courage over comfort. My courage is rooted in love for my community and the belief that when we protect the next generation, we protect the future itself.
One of the most urgent problems I am addressing is the ineffectiveness of sexual and reproductive health education for adolescents, which is often buried under cultural norms and traditions. While services exist, they are frequently delivered without youth-centered approaches, leaving young people confused and vulnerable.
In Tanzania, this leads to high rates of teen pregnancy, early marriage, school dropouts, and gender-based violence. Every year, thousands of adolescents face preventable consequences simply because the systems meant to protect them fail. Through Safe Haven Foundation, we work to break these barriers and create safe, informed spaces where young people can make empowered choices about their lives.
Yes. That moment came when I lost a 14-year-old girl to complications from teen pregnancy. Standing there, heartbroken, I realized that medicine alone could not save our girls if they never had the chance to make informed choices.
That day, Safe Haven Foundation was born. From that pain came a calling to prevent tragedy through education, empowerment, and opportunity. This is not just work to me. It is a commitment to protect a generation before their dreams are lost.
The most important lesson I have learned is that real change begins when you meet people where they are, not where you think they should be. Solutions created with communities, not for them, create the most lasting impact.
I have also learned that education is generational. When you educate one person, the ripple effects can shape families and communities for decades. Every lesson shared today is an investment in generations yet to be born.
In the next decade, I hope to see a generation of young people in Tanzania and across Africa who are informed, healthy, and leading change in their communities. I want adolescent girls to grow up free from preventable challenges like early pregnancy and child marriage, and for boys to be active allies in building equity.
Through Safe Haven Foundation, we plan to expand beyond schools into entire communities, integrating health education with mental health support, entrepreneurship, and inclusive recreation. I envision Safe Haven becoming a regional model center, not just an organization, but a movement transforming systems and proving that when we invest in young people, we change the future.
One of the impacts I am most proud of is creating inclusive spaces that restore dignity. Alongside Binti Jasiri, we built a pilot recreation center and football field for over 100 children with disabilities, including many with autism, at Msimbazi Mseto Primary School in Dar es Salaam.
These children now have a safe space to play, learn, and build confidence. The field has become a community hub that breaks stigma through shared experience. Combined with the success of Binti Jasiri, where young mothers have formed cooperatives, secured loans, gained employment, and showcased their work internationally, this reflects our mission of transforming vulnerability into empowerment.
Dr. Khadijah Bwanakheri’s leadership embodies the heart of Global Fellows in Courage, courage that protects, educates, and empowers before harm can take root. Through Safe Haven Foundation, she is proving that when young people are given knowledge, dignity, and opportunity, they do not just survive. They lead.
