Africa
Linda Acen Abili, Uganda-Sudan Program Director and Board of Directors Chair (Staff Member). Linda ensures Hope Ofiriha’s projects are moving forward on a day-to-day basis, serves as Chair of our Board of Directors, and coordinates with our Magwi County Advisory Board members. She became our program director in 2005 and was critical to expanding our mission a year later to helping women and children—both girls and boys—throughout Magwi County and in Uganda. Linda is from Omilling, a remote mountain village Hope Ofiriha serves, and is the only person from there to graduate from university. The people of Omilling respect her enormously, and she is thrilled to be able to help her marginalized community and others like it. Linda holds a degree in Business Administration from Juba University.
Alice Amwony, Program Coordinator (Staff Member). Alice coordinates Hope Ofiriha’s education, HIV-AIDs, womens groups, and education projects. She has been instrumental in forming several womens groups to tackle poverty, inspiring more than 150 former child soldiers to return to school, and running a school-based HIV-AIDs awareness program. Currently, her main focus is increasing awareness of HIV-AIDS and promoting prevention, treatment, and testing. Alice holds a diploma in Information Technology, a certificate in Social Work, and a certificate in HIV Counseling.
Nsanabandi Khalife, Agroforestry Project Manager (Volunteer). Nsanabandi manages our agriculture and environment projects. He has worked as a project manager for several national agroforestry institutions and has championed the start of three successful womens cooperatives in Uganda. He currently is the nurseries manager in the Horticulture Program at Uganda’s National Crops Resources Research Institute (NACRRI), a national public research institute that develops and disseminates improved crop technologies. Nsanabandi has both a bachelor of science and master’s in Agroforestry.
Sitawa Wafula, Social Media Manager (Volunteer). Sitawa manages Hope Ofiriha’s social media presence from her home in Kenya. A survivor of rape, she is a tireless advocate for women and girls in Magwi County, many of whom suffered sexual violence during the civil war. Her other advocacy work includes leading a sanitary-towel campaign in partnership with Sanibank Consortium for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds in rural Kenya and serving as Kenya’s Ambassador for Mental Health (she personally suffers seizures) under Basic Needs UK in Kenya alongside Actor/Musician Anthony Mwangi. Sitawa has been nominated for a Feather Award for her work. Sitawa is a former Actuarial Science university student who works as an events organizer. She is also an accomplished poet and open mic performer.
Dr. Robert Lokong, Physician (Volunteer). Dr. Robert Lokong has headed Hope Ofiriha’s Loheru Healthcare Post since 2007 and is responsible for overseeing all health-related field activities. A trained surgeon, he holds a Medical Diploma and a certificate in Public Healthcare.
Rosemary Ayaa Lakop, Field Coordinator (Volunteer). Rosemary joined Hope Ofiriha in 2007, working her way up from a field interpretor to a field coordinator. She holds a certificate in HIV Counseling and a certificate in Nursing. She is currently working on completing her law degree.
Australia
Achiro “Knight” Obwoya Achan, Australia, Fundraising Manager and Board of Directors Member (Volunteer). Knight—who is originally from Pajok, a settlement in Magwi County—has been fundraising on behalf of Hope Ofiriha since 2007. She uses social media and puts on house parties and other events to raise money. Knight was the main volunteer responsible for Hope Ofiriha receiving enough donations from enough unique donors to earn a permanent spot on GlobalGiving in the Global Open Challenge. She has travelled from Melbourne, Australia, to Oslo, Norway, three times to check on how the organization is running and to meet with members of the Europe volunteer team. Knight works as a preschool teacher in Australia and previously worked as a preschool teacher for a Catholic nursery school in South Sudan. Knight has a diploma in Child Psychology and a certificate in Nursery Education.
Europe
William Logai Ochieng, Norway, Executive Director and Board of Directors Member (Volunteer). William—who is originally from Torit, the capital of Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State—has been advising and contributing to Hope Ofiriha since its early days. In 2006, he became Executive Director and joined forces with Linda Acen Abili to expand Hope Ofiriha’s mission to helping women and children throughout Magwi County and in Uganda. As Executive Director, he oversees fundraising, project management, and budgeting. He is in weekly contact with the staff members and volunteers in Sudan and Uganda, who provide him with progress reports on the projects. William also regularly visits Magwi County to keep an eye on how the organization is running, develop new projects, train and empower the team, and meet with members of the Magwi County Advisory Board. William brings Hope Ofiriha broad commercial experience after having run his own business for several years in Uganda. He has a bachelor’s in International Marketing from BI Norwegian School of Management.
Lucy Akot, Netherlands, Fundraising Manager and Board of Directors Member (Volunteer). Lucy publicizes and fundraises for Hope Ofiriha just about every day. She was born in Sudan, spent her youth in Uganda, and now lives in the Netherlands. She once worked as a secretary for the head of a refugee camp for South Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda. She says the opportunity changed her life, making her want to devote the rest of her life to empowering destitute women and children to fight poverty. Lucy completed three years of secondary education in Uganda.
Søren O. Gregerson, Norway, Building Advisor and Fundraiser (Volunteer). Søren advises on Hope Ofiriha’s school building projects and helps fundraise. When we obtain enough funds to start the Mairo Primary School Project, he plans to travel to South Sudan to supervise construction. Søren is a builder and has worked for several different construction firms in Norway over the years. Early in his career, he worked in Africa in Ehiopia as a site manager. While in Addis Ababa, he met his wife, Neguse. Søren holds a certificate in Construction and Electrical Installation.
Ragnhild Bull-Njaa Larsen, Norway, Materials Coordinator (Volunteer). Ragnhild was one of Hope Ofirihas’s very first donors in Norway and has been volunteering for us since 2007. She works closely with our Executive Director, providing checks and balances to his work; coordinates distribution of materials; helps monitor bookkeeping; and helps collect used clothes to send to Magwi County, South Sudan, twice a year. Ragnhild recently joined the municipality of Nittadal as a department manager. Previously, she worked as a manager at Unikum. She has a master’s in Theology from Oslo University.
Silje Bull-Njaa Larsen, Norway, Communications Advisor (Volunteer). Silje advises us on communications and process facilitation. She also helps collect used clothes sent to Magwi County, South Sudan, twice a year. By profession, Silje is an executive coach who prepares Norwegians to live and work abroad. She runs Bull Consulting and was previously with Coriander AS. She also has taught cross cultural communication courses at BI Norwegian School of Management since 1998. Silje has a master’s from the University of Bergen in Sociolinguistics.
Toril Bull-Njaa Larsen, Norway, Development Advisor (Volunteer). Toril, a pastor, has been a volunteer for us since 2007. She works closely with our Executive Director, providing checks and balances to his work, and manages the collection of used clothes sent to Magwi County, South Sudan, twice a year. Toril has worked for several churches in Norway as a pastor. She also served with FK Norway (Norwegian Peace Corps) in Sri Lanka and with Norwegian Church Aid as a volunteer in Khartoum, Sudan. She has a master’s in Theology from Oslo University.
Atle Sogn, Norway, Natural Resources Advisor (Volunteer). Atle has been a volunteer for Hope Ofiriha since 2007. He advises on natural resources management; helps monitor bookkeeping; and helps gather and store used clothes to be sent to Magwi County, South Sudan, twice a year. Atle has been working with Unikum as a consultant for the past eight years. He is enrolled at Oslo University in a Natural Resources Management degree program and is scheduled to graduate in 2011.
