Impact Report

2025

Good ideas deserve the chance to last

Judith Neilson

Progress never happens in isolation. It’s shaped by people with the courage and imagination to keep moving forward. Lasting change happens when communities lead, supported by backing that helps their ideas endure. That is the role of this Foundation. Across Africa, Australia and our wider innovation work, we stand alongside people who know their communities best. The contexts differ, but the commitment is the same: to support determined people and practical solutions so they can thrive.

The people and stories in this report reflect that spirit, showing how with steady support communities can build change that lasts.

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Meet our leaders of change

Across Africa and Australia, from emergency rooms in Nairobi to women’s refuges in Sydney, local leaders are showing what it takes to shift systems from the inside. They reflect on what drives them, the obstacles they face and the futures they are working toward. 

Angela Oduor Lungati

Executive Director, Ushahidi, Kenya Ushahidi is a global, Kenyan-born technology non-profit that has changed how communities share and use information. First created during Kenya’s 2008 post-election violence to help citizens report what was happening around them, it has since become one »

Barbie-Lee Kirby

Executive Director of First Nations Futures, Australia Barbie-Lee Kirby is one of the leading voices in a new generation of First Nations leaders in Australia. A Ngiyambaa, Wailwan, Paakintji-Maraura, Gamilaraay and Yuwaalaraay woman from Far West NSW, she combines deep community »

Concy Aloyo

Founder of Wabedu Kigen Women’s Collective, Uganda  Concy Aloyo is a community leader from Amuru district in Northern Uganda, working to place women’s leadership at the centre of peacebuilding and recovery. In a region scarred by decades of war, where women and girls »

Dr. Benjamin Wachira

Founder and Executive Director of Emergency Medicine Kenya Foundation  Kenya had no emergency healthcare system a decade ago. Dr. Benjamin Wachira is building one from the ground up, securing national policies, training thousands of providers, and creating county level systems now »

Isabelle Kamariza

Founder of Solid’Africa, Rwanda   What began as an act of compassion has grown into a model for how food systems can strengthen both health and livelihoods. Solid’Africa’s work started in hospitals and later extended to public schools, where it now provides »

Nicole Yade

CEO of Women’s and Girls’ Emergency Centre (WAGEC), Australia Nicole Yade leads WAGEC, a feminist, grassroots organisation that supports women and families in crisis. She is also CoChair of the Keeping Women Out of Prison Coalition (KWOOP), an alliance working to »

Peter Kazickas

Founder of Uncommon, Zimbabwe  Peter Kazickas is the founder of Uncommon, a social enterprise in Zimbabwe that uses technology education to tackle youth unemployment and connect young people to the global digital economy. An American with deep ties to the country, »

Ren Fernando

Co-Founder of ReLove, Australia An architect turned social entrepreneur, Ren co-founded ReLove to tackle two crises at once: waste and housing insecurity. The organisation rescues high quality furniture from landfill and furnishes homes for women and families starting again after violence, »

Africa

Backing self-determined and resilient futures

Africa is home to the world’s youngest populations and a new generation of leaders, yet many still face barriers to healthcare, opportunity and voice. The Foundation’s Africa portfolio supports solutions that strengthen public health, foster inclusive digital and green economies, and advance regional leadership and collaboration. We work in context and through trusted relationships, bringing together community insight and systemic change. By prioritising women, girls and youth, and encouraging collaboration across borders, we aim to contribute to a continent that is more resilient, more connected and better able to shape its own future.

Africa / Strengthening public health system and delivery

Building trust through faith in Zambia’s cervical cancer response 

In Zambia, where Christianity shapes much of social life, pastors and elders are often trusted more than doctors. That trust can cut both ways. In some communities, illness is still seen as divine punishment; in others, cultural and religious norms make »

Emergency care begins before the hospital  

In Nakuru County, the first person to reach an emergency is often not a doctor or nurse, but a motorbike rider, taxi driver, public transport worker, or community health worker.   Working within this reality, Emergency Medicine Kenya Foundation and the County »

How schools and communities are changing the course of malaria 

In the remote village of Namatiti in southern Malawi, malaria was part of daily life. For schoolchildren it meant missed lessons, long walks to distant health clinics, and, at times, dangerous delays in treatment. At school, sick children queued in a »

Taking essential services on the road in Rural Zimbabwe 

A single Mobile One Stop Centre travelled across remote communities bringing legal aid, healthcare, counselling and civil registration directly to more than 1300 people who would otherwise be out of reach of government services.  In Nyanga North, essential services are scarce. »

Africa / Inclusive digital and green economic growth

Zambia’s smallholder farmers are beating the worst drought in a century

Fields dried up, harvests shrank, and families faced tough choices about how to feed themselves. Magret Banda, 68, from Petauke district, has been farming for decades. When the rains failed last year, many farmers in her community lost everything. But Magret »

How a Cape Town internship became a pathway to work 

In Masiphumelele, a crowded township on the Cape Peninsula, early work opportunities are limited. High unemployment and a lack of structured after school activities mean many young people have little exposure to professional environments. MasiSports+ was created to help fill this »

How three women built Kotura Restaurant in a Ugandan refugee settlement 

In Northern Uganda’s refugee settlements, adolescent girls and young mothers are learning trades, starting small businesses and rebuilding their lives after displacement. In Boroli refugee settlement, three young mothers, survivors of domestic violence, took a bold step towards economic independence. Harriet, »

A smallholder farming cooperative turns a season of loss into growth  

In Nyagatare district, farmers from the CORVNY cooperative saw their rice yields drop sharply after months of water shortages and hailstorms. Instead of retreating, they regrouped. With Solid’Africa’s support, providing access to premium seeds, fertiliser and technical advice through its sustainable »

In Zimbabwe’s classrooms, teachers learn to code before their pupils 

In Harare, technology is changing how lessons are taught.   When Uncommon introduced its teacher training program at a national School Heads’ Conference earlier this year, Mrs. Kaisi invited the team to run an intensive two day workshop at her school. The training, »

Africa / African leadership, voice and regional influence

Women leading peace in East Africa 

In Kenya’s Baringo County, women affected by conflict are finding new roles in peacebuilding through ActionAid’s African Women Voices for Peace platform. Among them is Sarah, whose path from survivor to advocate traces the challenges and resilience of many women across »

How a Zimbabwean disability centre is reshaping inclusion 

How a Zimbabwean disability centre is reshaping inclusion In Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo, a small centre and school is quietly changing how Zimbabwe thinks about disability inclusion. King George VI Centre and School is the country’s only institution offering disability inclusive primary, secondary and »

Australia

Advancing equity for women and girls

The Foundation’s Australia portfolio works to create safer, fairer and more inclusive systems for women and girls experiencing intersecting disadvantage. We focus on strengthening Sydney’s support sector, backing First Nations women’s leadership and economic participation, and improving justice outcomes. Our partnerships are grounded in lived experience and trusted relationships, recognising the intergenerational impact of inequality on women and girls, and on their children. By combining frontline support with efforts that shift the systems around them, we aim to contribute to lasting change that advances equity across Australia.

Australia / Investing in Sydney’s support sector and strengthening systems

Money Clinics help women break cycles of economic abuse

Melissa arrived at the Sydney Money Clinic burdened by debts that had mounted after years of post-separation financial abuse. She was owed $83,000 in unpaid child support over the last decade, which had caused severe financial hardship. To cover basic costs after »

Survivor advocacy drives reform of forensic care in Queensland

When survivor-advocate Evie Clayton spoke out about her experience of being unable to access a timely forensic medical examination in Queensland, she gave voice to a systemic failure. In regional and remote areas in particular, survivors of sexual assault could wait »

Women in Western Sydney are taking steps to overcome barriers to work and financial security 

In Liverpool, Doorways to the Future is listening to women to identify the challenges they face to help shape pathways into stable and meaningful economic participation.   In Liverpool, the early months of Doorways to the Future have been about listening. Led »

Enterprise as a path to independence 

Kate is a single mother of three living in Geelong, Victoria, rebuilding her life after domestic violence and the trauma of nearly losing her life during childbirth. Living in a regional town has compounded the challenges of parenting alone and managing »

Challenging ageism in the job market 

When Claire, 53, moved from Queensland to Sydney to escape domestic violence, she retrained in events management, only to have the pandemic shut down her new career. When Claire, 53, moved from Queensland to Sydney to escape domestic violence, she retrained »

Australia / Backing First Nations women and girls

Women rangers unite for Country and community 

Across the Northern Territory, First Nations women, many working as rangers, are building a collective voice to care for Country and lead change in their communities. The Strong Women for Healthy Country Network, now a formally constituted organisation governed entirely by »

Health workers in East Arnhem Land take the lead on family violence response 

In East Arnhem Land, a remote region of Northern Australia, First Nations health workers are being trained to respond to domestic, family and sexual violence in ways rooted in language and culture. The program, co-facilitated by Aboriginal leaders, reached more than »

Australia / Justice for women and girls

Legal support that changes lives and systems 

When Maya first contacted Anti-Slavery Australia, she was stranded overseas with her young child after being trafficked by her husband under the guise of a family visit. Her passport had been taken, her visa had been withdrawn without her consent, and »

How intensive, trauma informed support can change a woman’s trajectory 

Diane is a victim-survivor of domestic and family violence who was referred to the Miranda Project due to her involvement in the criminal legal system.  Diane is a victim-survivor of domestic and family violence who was referred to the Miranda Project »

Legal advocacy as prevention 

Many women caught in the legal system are there because of violence, homelessness and poverty. The Justice and Equity Centre’s lawyers work with women whose lives have been destabilised by abuse, eviction and coercive control, helping them navigate complex systems and »

Keeping Women Out of Prison is reaching a turning point in NSW

The Keeping Women Out of Prison (KWOOP) Coalition is shifting the pathway for women who come into contact with the NSW criminal legal system.  What began as a volunteer led alliance has grown into a coordinated, statewide voice for justice reform »

The long road to protection 

In her home country, Jenna and her children were subjected to violence and abuse from her husband. The family moved to Australia almost a decade ago but the violence continued here. The family moved to Australia almost a decade ago, but »

A new national resource for frontline workers 

Refugee women often carry the weight of trauma, fear and uncertainty when seeking help. The Safer Futures Toolkit, launched by RACS is helping frontline workers recognise that and respond with care. Co-designed with refugee women and developed with partners including the »

Why employment support matters for women leaving prison

When Brittany joined the Success Works program, she was determined to start again. The stigma of a criminal record made the search seem impossible. Through the Breaking Barriers program, Brittany attended job readiness workshops and was matched with a volunteer mentor. »

Why stable housing shapes women’s chances of rebuilding their lives

Without stable housing, women leaving prison struggle to stay safe, rebuild routines and parent their children. With it, they can stabilise, avoid returning to crisis, and take the first practical steps toward independence. When Sara arrived at the From Now program, »

Innovation

Backing bold ideas with global reach

Our Innovation portfolio opens space for bold ideas that can spark radical, positive change. With a global outlook and a focus on lived experience, we invest in early initiatives and transition-to-scale efforts that are imaginative, inclusive and grounded in community. Our starting point is Urban Futures, where we back innovations that make cities safer, more resilient and more vibrant. By encouraging experimentation and supporting approaches that can influence wider systems, the portfolio aims to create space for creativity, connection and lasting impact.

Innovation

Investing in innovation for changing cities

We have faith in our innovators and their teams, ideas, ambition and capability. “Innovation means doing things differently to achieve better outcomes, whether that’s greater impact, quality or efficiency. It draws on new knowledge, traditional wisdom, creativity, and experimentation”, says Abi »