When Zimbabwean mother-of-four Eunice Sinoya enrolled in a first aid course near the capital Harare, she was lured by the college's promise of a job in Britain's care sector.
The need for support is clear in a country where violence against women is profound and widespread, and impunity for perpetrators is common, women's rights experts say.
Wary residents and a lack of support from local authorities make it difficult to map the needs of informal settlement residents and deliver public services.
After six years of working in a vineyard just outside Cape Town, farmworker Diana Ndleleni collapsed between the grapevines grown to make wines renowned throughout the world.