Eveline Nelson Mchau’s project works to build a coalition around disability employment awareness with staff at the Center for Development and Disability at the University of New Mexico.
Eveline has spent much of her adult life tirelessly advocating for equality and fair treatment for those in the disability community. She lives in the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam, and is a firsthand witness to the lack of protections that exist for people with disabilities in Tanzania. As a Governance Program Officer at The Foundation for Civil Society (FCS), Eveline understands that discrimination has complex roots and thus efforts to end it must include a combination of governmental, interpersonal, and social remedies.
While pursuing her Master of Arts in Development Management, Eveline began her professional career in the field of education. She worked as a tutorial assistant at the University of Dar es Salaam before entering the advocacy world where she now exists. Before filling her current role at The Foundation for Civil Society, she worked as a Program Officer for Capacity Building at the same organization. Through her multiple roles at FCS, she has gained experience working on projects of various scope and size, including niche projects that involve managing people with disability grant portfolios. She also helped organize the People with Disability Annual Forum from 2014 to 2016. Each of these years, the conferences hosted over 150 people.
Using her experience in bringing people together, her passion for inclusion and training delivered through the Fellowship, Eveline has implemented a project that will promote awareness on inclusive employment by working with 28 different organizations that are currently supported by the Foundation for Civil Society. She has used the leverage she already has from her employer and work in Tanzania to diffuse information and gain contacts.