Child Support Tanzania

Child Support Tanzania (CST) is a Tanzanian non-governmental, nonprofit organization focused on promoting the rights, inclusion, and education of children with disabilities and other underprivileged children. It was registered on May 27, 2008, under the Tanzanian NGO Act and operates primarily in Mbeya, in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania.

The organization was founded by Noelah Msuya Shawa, a specialist in teaching children with disabilities and special needs, with the mission to ensure that these children can access quality inclusive education alongside their able-bodied peers and participate fully in school and community life.

CST runs an Inclusive Early Childhood Assessment, Learning and Development Center (ECALD) and is known for providing inclusive early childhood education, training teachers in inclusive practices, offering assistive devices, and engaging in community-based rehabilitation and awareness raising to change societal attitudes about disability.

The organization also works on advocacy with government and partners to improve policies and practices that support children with disabilities, and it encourages integration of children with and without disabilities in educational settings as a model for broader systemic change.

Vision: Children and young people with disabilities and the underprivileged realize their full potential in an inclusive society.

Mission: To promote and facilitate access to quality inclusive education and to raise awareness about the rights of children with disabilities.