I began my mental health advocacy journey with Tanzania Community Health Information and Support (TaCHIS), working with higher learning institutions through arts and sports to promote awareness and early support among youth in Tanzania Mainland.  I have learned that real change begins when we listen deeply to lived experiences and center community voices in our work.

After an international career focused on improving sexual and reproductive health access in sub-Saharan Africa, my personal experiences - both as a caregiver for relatives with psychiatric disorders and as a survivor of perinatal depression - reshaped my mission. Determined to dismantle the taboos surrounding women's mental health, I founded the Hakili Nafaya Institute.