Single mothers face unique challenges, ranging from financial struggles to emotional distress and societal stigma. Recognising these hardships, local businesswoman Rebecca Mulondo founded the Vuwa Mufumakadzi Foundation, an organisation dedicated to empowering and supporting single mothers.
The foundation was established to address the deep emotional wounds and financial difficulties many single mothers experience. "I started the Vuwa Mufumakadzi Foundation after witnessing the pain and struggles of single mothers. Many feel abandoned, rejected, and overwhelmed. We are here to remind them that they are strong, capable, and deserving of happiness," says Mulondo.
The foundation focuses on healing, empowerment, and co-parenting, encouraging mothers to rebuild their lives while fostering healthier relationships with their children's fathers.
It offers various programmes, including counselling services to help mothers process their emotions and find healing, parenting-skills workshops to equip them with tools for raising emotionally stable children, as well as financial literacy and entrepreneurship training to promote self-sufficiency.
One of the foundation's biggest successes involved a mother who had refused to co-parent due to anger over her past relationship. With guidance from Vuwa Mufumakadzi, she let go of bitterness, allowed the father back into her child's life, and started a successful salon business.
Mulondo believes that unresolved pain can lead to anger, broken families, and even gender-based violence. "We teach women how to release anger and embrace peace, because their emotional well-being affects their children's future. A healed mother raises a strong child," she explained.