INUA Foundation – Executive Summary

INUA Foundation is a refugee-led, non-governmental organization established in 2018 to respond to the compounded humanitarian and development challenges affecting refugees and vulnerable host communities in Tanzania and the wider Great Lakes and East Africa region. The organization was founded in the context of protracted conflicts in the Great Lakes region, persistent poverty, and the continued impact of the HIV pandemic, which have resulted in displacement, loss of livelihoods, limited access to basic services, and heightened protection risks for marginalized populations.

INUA Foundation is legally registered in Tanzania under the NGO Act No. 24 of 2002 (Registration No. NGO1124). The Foundation operates in the United Republic of Tanzania, including refugee camp and urban settings, and is committed to delivering inclusive, accountable, and results-driven programmes aligned with national priorities and UN humanitarian and development frameworks.

The Foundation’s vision is a society in which all individuals live safe, healthy, confident, and dignified lives, with equal opportunities to participate fully in their communities. Its mission is to improve the well-being, protection, and resilience of vulnerable populations by creating inclusive pathways for sustainable development, social justice, and self-reliance through community-based protection and empowerment programmes.

INUA Foundation’s work focuses on refugees, vulnerable children, women and girls, and persons with disabilities. Its thematic areas of expertise include livelihoods and economic empowerment, education and skills development, health and HIV response, protection and empowerment, gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response, and research and advocacy. All interventions are guided by age, gender, and diversity (AGD) principles, protection mainstreaming, and accountability to affected populations (AAP).

Key programmes include English language training and vocational skills development in Nyarugusu Refugee Camp, access to formal and non-formal education for refugee children, community-based health and HIV awareness initiatives, survivor-centred GBV prevention and response, and early childhood education in urban settings. Since 2021, INUA Foundation has achieved measurable results, including training 461 refugees through English language centres, providing vocational skills training to 103 refugees, supporting 18 refugee students to enrol in Tanzanian secondary schools, distributing school kits to orphaned children, and operating an inclusive nursery school serving refugee and Tanzanian children in Dar es Salaam.

INUA Foundation is governed by an independent Board of Directors/Trustees and managed by an experienced Executive Director supported by a qualified senior management team. The organization employs 37 staff members with Master’s, Bachelor’s, and Diploma qualifications across relevant social and organizational disciplines. INUA Foundation maintains strong systems in financial management, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), safeguarding, and compliance, and has experience managing donor-funded grants in line with accountability and reporting requirements.

With an annual operating budget of approximately USD 381,000, funded primarily through donor contributions, INUA Foundation works in partnership with government institutions, UN agencies, NGOs, 1refugee-led organizations, and private sector actors. Looking ahead, the Foundation aims to scale proven programme models, expand its geographic reach within Tanzania, strengthen institutional capacity, and deepen strategic partnerships to contribute to durable solutions, resilience, and inclusive development outcomes for refugees and vulnerable communities.