With a culturally diverse background, Lainah is a treasured emerging disability Social Worker focused on providing society’s more vulnerable members with social justice. Through practicing self-empowerment, Lainah helps people mitigate and/or resolve life’s many obstacles.
Armed with a Master’s Degree in Education and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Management, Lainah specialises in mentoring and communicating sustainable community skills to provide participants with the information, tools and resources to navigate life’s challenges with confidence.
Not only does Lainah bring exceptional social worker skills to the team, her diverse cultural background and multilingual skills distinguish her and provide her a unique ability to provide services to participants in a range of languages.
With Lainah’s assistance we are in a remarkable position to be able to be able to listen and understand a participants needs in their native language. At AYS we recognise each participants needs are unique and complex this provides the team with advantages to serve our participants needs in such a way that we otherwise wouldn’t have the tools to, without her.
Growing up in Zimbabwe, in Southern Africa, and moving to The Netherlands as a young adult, Lainah is bilingual in Shona, English and Dutch. Through living in the United Kingdom and Ethiopia later in life, Lainah can also understand Afrikaans, Swahili and Amharic!
Lainah has taught English as a second language, African studies and Home Economics, whilst living in Ethiopia, to help teenagers prepare for an easier adjustment to independent living and studying at international universities. The African studies in particular helped her students to be proud of their African identity as they move into new Western environments with existing prejudices.
Coming from an Acting Director position at a disability rehabilitation community centre for families infected and affected by Leprosy, Lainah has experience working in disability support and upholds AYS’s values with her passion for empowering the lives of those around her.
