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From the fashion runways of Europe to classrooms in Tanzania and the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C., Peachtree City resident Tausi Likokola has spent much of her life using her international platform to help others.
The former international fashion model, author, and humanitarian has worked with some of the world’s best-known designers, raised two children as a single mother in Peachtree City, and spent decades advocating for women, children, and vulnerable communities.
Now, through the Tausi Likokola Global Empowerment Foundation (TLGEF), established in Peachtree City in 2025, she is bringing those efforts together under one organization, with a special focus on education, women’s health, human rights, and mentorship.
On November 7, she will invite the Fayette County community to learn more about that work at a free public meet-and-greet at Trilith.
From Tanzania to the international runway
Likokola was born and raised in Tanzania before leaving Africa to pursue her education in Europe. She first studied in Finland and later moved to Germany, where an unexpected encounter changed the direction of her life.
Fashion scouts noticed her height and appearance and approached her about modeling. She signed with Mega Models in Germany, beginning an international modeling career that lasted more than 15 years.
Among the designers she worked with were Christian Dior, Tommy Hilfiger, and Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake.
But the qualities that helped her succeed in modeling were once the very things that made her feel uncomfortable about herself.
Growing up exceptionally tall and thin, Likokola said she was shy and often felt awkward. Being recognized internationally for her appearance helped her discover a confidence she wanted to share with other young women.
When she returned to Tanzania, where the fashion industry was still developing, she was welcomed as a successful international model and eventually appointed a goodwill ambassador.
She began visiting schools, speaking to young women, and encouraging them to recognize their own potential.
Her first book, The Art of Beauty and Health, grew out of that experience.
The visits also opened her eyes to more practical needs. Some students lacked uniforms, books, and basic health supplies. Girls faced additional challenges, including limited access to sanitary products and cultural stigmas surrounding menstruation.
What began as encouragement gradually developed into a much larger humanitarian mission.
Building bridges between continents
While still living in Germany, Likokola launched a nonprofit initiative called the Tausi AIDS Fund, or TAF, to address the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
She worked with pharmaceutical companies, churches, university students, and other organizations to develop assistance programs.
The Roman Catholic Church provided office space, while university students volunteered their time. Over the years, the effort helped connect resources in Germany with communities in Tanzania, Namibia, South Africa, and elsewhere.
Her work included providing educational materials and medical supplies and supporting people affected by HIV/AIDS.
Even after moving away from Germany, Likokola never completely left the work behind.
In Japan, she continued charitable activities, including World AIDS Day gatherings supported by members of the American military community. Proceeds from her books also helped support humanitarian programs.
Yet one of the most difficult chapters of her life would lead to another book, written from an intensely personal experience.
Finding purpose through personal loss
While living in Okinawa, Japan, Likokola gave birth to her first child, a son who had trisomy 18, a serious chromosomal condition.
After his birth, she and her baby were flown to Hawaii for medical care. Despite efforts to save him, her son died after just 11 days.
The experience inspired her book The Touch of an Angel, in which she shared her family’s story of loss and grief.
She has since used the book in workshops, including programs with churches, to help other people navigate grief.
Likokola later became the mother of two more children, who were born 18 months apart.
Eventually, she faced another major life transition: choosing where to raise them.
Her former husband was an American who worked for the U.S. government, and although her international career had given her connections in Europe and elsewhere, Likokola wanted her children to grow up with a strong connection to their American identity.
While living in Japan, she researched communities in the United States and discovered Peachtree City, which she said had been highly ranked as a place to raise young children.
She moved there without knowing anyone.
“It was just a leap of faith,” she said.
Likokola raised her children as a single mother in Peachtree City, where they attended local schools and eventually moved on to college.
She developed friendships, became involved in her church, and established the community connections that would eventually help her build a new foundation.
For a time, raising her children took priority over running a formal nonprofit. However, her humanitarian activities continued.
She also spent approximately two years back in Tanzania with her children, giving them an opportunity to attend school there and experience their mother’s homeland. During that period, she hosted a television program and continued her advocacy work.
As her children approached college age, Likokola began preparing for a new chapter of her own.
A foundation with four areas of focus
In 2025, Likokola established the Tausi Likokola Global Empowerment Foundation in Peachtree City, giving her decades of humanitarian work a new organizational home.
The foundation focuses on four areas: education and literacy advancement, women’s health and sanitation, legal advocacy and human rights, and workshops and mentorship.
Although much of her work remains connected to Africa, Likokola wants the foundation to benefit communities in the United States as well.
One of her priorities is helping girls remain in school by providing sanitary products, uniforms, and educational assistance.
She explained that in parts of Africa, menstruation is still surrounded by cultural stigma, and some girls are reluctant to attend school during their periods.
Access to sanitary pads can be another obstacle.
Through a partnership with an Atlanta-area organization working in Tanzania, Likokola said she helped provide several months of sanitary products for nearly 500 girls in 2025.
The foundation also supports educational needs, including assistance for an individual student with school fees and uniforms. Likokola distributes books to schools and encourages other authors to contribute educational materials.
She hopes to expand those programs through fundraising and partnerships.
But her vision goes beyond material assistance.
Likokola remembers being a young girl who needed someone to encourage her, just as she now encourages students and young women to pursue opportunities they might never have imagined.
“I didn’t have a big sister to tell me, ‘You’re beautiful. You can achieve this. You can travel. You can do this,’” Likokola said.
Through school visits, books, and mentorship programs, she hopes to provide that encouragement to others.
Speaking out for human rights in Tanzania
In recent years, Likokola has also become increasingly involved in human rights advocacy as political unrest has intensified in her native Tanzania.
She said her willingness to speak publicly about government actions marked a significant change from her earlier role as a goodwill ambassador, when she was welcomed by government officials.
After returning to the United States, she began using social media to raise concerns about public health, political freedoms, and the treatment of government critics.
As people in Tanzania began contacting her about missing or detained relatives, she sought help from American elected officials.
Likokola said she contacted the offices of Georgia’s U.S. senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, and traveled to Washington, D.C., to speak with congressional staff about human rights concerns.
In October 2025, she also participated in a demonstration in Washington directed at the International Monetary Fund, urging greater scrutiny of international financial assistance to Tanzania ahead of its elections.
Those concerns proved significant.
Tanzania’s October 29, 2025, presidential election was followed by violent protests, a government-imposed internet shutdown, and a crackdown on opposition groups. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented killings, disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and other serious human rights violations surrounding the election.
Likokola has taken a particular interest in the case of Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who survived a 2017 assassination attempt and was arrested in April 2025 on treason charges.
Lissu’s detention and prosecution have drawn international criticism, including concerns about freedom of expression and his right to a fair trial.
Likokola said she has also helped support people affected by the political unrest, including members of Lissu’s family who are pursuing their education in the United States.
She said family members were invited to speak with U.S. Senate officials about their father’s situation.
For Likokola, who was born in Tanzania but is also an American citizen, the work connects both of her countries.
She hopes the foundation will provide additional opportunities to advocate for people whose voices might otherwise go unheard.
Inviting the community to get involved
On Saturday, November 7, Likokola will host a public meet-and-greet for the foundation at Nexus Community at Trilith, located at 300 Trilith Parkway in Fayetteville.
The event will run from 4 to 7 p.m. and is open to the public.
Guests will have an opportunity to meet foundation representatives, learn about its programs, and see a film highlighting the work already underway.
The afternoon will also include refreshments, a pop-up shop, and an auction featuring artwork donated by local artists and other items contributed by supporters.
Likokola said some supporters in Germany have even sent merchandise for the event, continuing the international connections that have supported her humanitarian work for decades.
Although she initially considered organizing a formal fundraising gala, she decided an open house would be a better way to introduce the relatively new foundation to the community.
The event will give residents an opportunity to learn about the organization before deciding how they might become involved.
Proceeds from the foundation’s fundraising efforts will help support its programs, including Likokola’s goal of providing additional sanitary products to girls in Tanzania before the end of the year.
For a woman whose life has taken her from Tanzania to Finland, Germany, Japan, and finally Peachtree City, the foundation represents a continuation of work that began long before she established a nonprofit bearing her name.
Likokola believes people can accomplish far more when they work together than when they try to confront the world’s problems alone.
“All of us humans, if we can come together and forget some of the little differences that we have, great things can be done,” Likokola said.
For more information about the Tausi Likokola Global Empowerment Foundation, its programs, or the November 7 event, visit tausilikokolaglob
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