Hanifa Sekalala
Co-Founder, SalamaNet C.I.C
Director for Public Relations & Outreach
Single Mother & Full-Time Carer
Community Advocate & Bereaved Parent
Turning pain into purpose — for every family.
My journey to helping create Salama Net CIC comes from my lived experience as a single mother, carer, and bereaved parent.
I know what it means to carry enormous responsibility alone — and I know how transformative the right support, at the right time, can be.
Caring for Complex Needs
Hanifa's eldest daughter has complex disabilities, global developmental delays, and is non-verbal. Years of daily advocacy, appointments, and navigating fragmented services have given Hanifa an intimate understanding of what families face.
Community Connection
Through her journey, Hanifa met countless other families struggling in silence. She recognised that isolation and lack of guidance are as damaging as the challenges themselves — and that community can change everything.
Resilience Through Grief
In 2025, Hanifa lost her youngest daughter Anirah unexpectedly. Carrying that grief while continuing to care for her family and others is a testament to the strength that drives her commitment to SalamaNet.
Turning Pain into Purpose
Hanifa's lived experience as a carer and bereaved parent gives her a deep, unshakeable understanding of what families need. Through SalamaNet, she channels that experience into practical support, outreach, and community empowerment.
“While being her mother is one of the greatest blessings in my life, the reality of caring for a child with complex needs can be incredibly demanding. There have been many times when I felt overwhelmed, exhausted, and isolated as a carer.”
My journey to helping create Salama Net CIC comes from my lived experience as a single mother and carer. My eldest daughter has complex disabilities and additional needs. She is non-verbal, has global developmental delays, and requires a high level of support and supervision every day. While being her mother is one of the greatest blessings in my life, the reality of caring for a child with complex needs can be incredibly demanding. There have been many times when I felt overwhelmed, exhausted, and isolated as a carer.
Like many parents of children with disabilities, I found myself constantly advocating for support, attending appointments, navigating services, and trying to ensure my daughter received the care and opportunities she deserved. Along the way, I met many other families facing similar challenges, often struggling in silence without enough support or guidance.
In 2025, my family experienced another devastating challenge when my youngest daughter, Anirah, passed away unexpectedly in her sleep. The loss of a child is something no parent can ever truly prepare for. The grief was overwhelming, yet I still had to find the strength to continue caring for my family and navigate everyday life.
These experiences taught me how important community support, access to information, emotional wellbeing, and practical help can be. I realised that many families, carers, and vulnerable individuals are carrying enormous burdens behind closed doors.
“I hope to turn pain into purpose by helping others access the support, knowledge, and community that can make a real difference in their lives.”
Together with my fellow founders, I helped establish Salama Net CIC because we share a belief that people should not have to face these challenges alone. Our vision is to create safer, stronger, and more resilient communities by providing support, education, digital safety awareness, wellbeing initiatives, and opportunities that empower individuals and families.
My lived experience as a carer and bereaved parent gives me a deep understanding of the challenges many families face. Through Salama Net CIC, I hope to turn pain into purpose by helping others access the support, knowledge, and community that can make a real difference in their lives.
At its heart, Salama Net CIC exists to ensure that people feel seen, supported, and empowered to build brighter futures for themselves and their families.
My contribution to SalamaNet is deeply personal.
I bring lived insight into resilience, caregiving, grief, and the transformative power of community. This experience underpins my commitment to ensuring that no individual or family feels unsupported, unheard, or alone in facing life's most difficult challenges.
Learn more about SalamaNet
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