Rustica Tembele: The Mother of Diversity

Rustica Tembele shares her journey from growing up in Tanzania, immersed in a culture of cohesion and collective responsibility fostered by the adults and elders in her community, to her enduring career as a civil servant in the country. Throughout her trajectory, she witnessed the erosion of social connection in a modernizing society which laid the foundation of her current social change work. Following her retirement from government service, she embarked on a mission to bridge intergenerational and mental health gaps, culminating in the co-founding of the TAP Elderly Women’s Wisdom for Youth (TEWWY). This organization acknowledges the challenges faced by today’s youth and aims to address them by offering mental healthcare services, nurturing supportive and diverse communities, and advocating for policy changes to enhance mental healthcare accessibility.