Empower 20 million Africans to sustainably provide for themselves by 2032.
One-year-old Avelino Katende lives with his grandmother Cecília Mariana in the Benguela province of Angola. His mother died when he was only two weeks old and he did not receive the essential nutrition that breast milk provides, especially in the first few months of life.
Cecília was not able to afford alternatives.
Avelino was admitted to the municipal hospital of Bocoio, where he was diagnosed with complicated malaria, severe anaemia, acute diarrhoeal disease, and marasmus — a severe form of protein-energy malnutrition.
Fortunately for Avelino, he was immediately enrolled into ForAfrika’s emergency feeding programme and started to receive therapeutic milk. After a few days of this treatment Cecília could see her grandson recovering. He is now a healthy little boy and Cecília is unable to hide her happiness.
“Thanks to you and the nurses, my grandson has recovered today and I will do everything to protect him from falling back into malnutrition and malaria.
I ask that you continue with this gesture because there are many needy people who miss it [malnutrition], but you have managed to do something. Twapandula [thank you]!” she said.
Malnutrition is a major health concern, especially in developing countries, with the main drivers being poverty, hunger, malaria and inadequate water and sanitation.
But, in Angola, the south-western states are on the brink of a food security and nutrition “catastrophe” mainly because of an ongoing drought, deemed the worst in 40 years.
ForAfrika has responded to this emergency by redirecting funds to purchase therapeutic milk (such as F75 and F100) and food products (such as the peanut-based Plumpy’Nut) to ensure children, like Avelino, receive the urgent nutritional treatment they need to survive. In our experience, severely acute malnourished children who receive these treatments are able to recover in as little as 30 days, although some children take longer.
“It is a safe space for me and the community — it is a place where we all come together and work together. It belongs to us!” says Rebecca Athiep Akeen of the communal well and its adjacent vegetable garden.
Rebecca is part of a 24-strong committee that built and tend to the garden in Apada, a rural suburb on the outskirts of Aweil town in South Sudan.
A few years ago, ForAfrika and the World Food Programme assisted the community to restore and improve their hand-dug shallow well. At the time it was just a hole in the ground, roughly covered in branches as a safety measure.
With a bit of help, the community members were able to reinforce the structure and build a raised wall on which a metal top could be placed to ensure safety and cleanliness.
A simple pulley system was erected and people are now able to pull containers of clean water out of the ground.
A trough was added to prevent wastage of any spills and also to allow the goats and cattle to enjoy a fresh drink.
It didn’t take long for the women in the village to devise a plan for a vegetable garden alongside the functioning water source; it is now worked by 20 women and four men who each take care of a portion.
Rebecca, a 40-year-old single mother, says: “I used to be angry all the time, but the garden has helped me.”
She explains that ForAfrika has assisted the group with nutritional education, skills training, seeds and implements, such as watering cans, spades and rakes.
The garden, beautifully fenced in thatched mats as is particular to the region, boasts healthy sukuma (collard greens), pumpkin and okra plants that can be harvested for consumption or sale at the market.
“It is also good that we have added some nutritious greens to our diets,” Rebecca says, smiling as she watches a tiny goat kid jumping up to the trough for a drink.
At a time when the world seems to be tilting from one disaster to another, it is the small seeds of hope that keep us grounded.
In Mozambique, these small seeds have grown into a thriving communal vegetable garden that gives people a great sense of accomplishment. ForAfrika assisted community groups with seeds, farming equipment and training in Sofala province after Cyclone Eloise destroyed homes, infrastructure, farming land and livelihoods in January.
Father of seven, Belito João Njaze and his fellow farmer, Manuel Verniz, said they did not expect these blooming results when they started building seedbeds earlier and are overjoyed.
“The support came when we didn’t know what to do because we had lost almost everything,” says Manuel, pointing to his bumper crop.
A group of four women – Isabel Alberto Luis, Teresa Jacinto, Joana Ernesto and Rosita João – were also thrilled when their vegetables were harvested – there was enough to feed their families and some extra that they were able to sell.
Alcidio Benjamin, ForAfrika’s manager in Sofala, explains that plant varieties are especially chosen for their nutritional qualities and climate-smart techniques are taught for an environment where conditions are often harsh.
The project also included training on making compost and natural pesticides, how to store and take care of the produce once it is harvested and also how to go about collecting seeds for next season’s planting.
“Thank you for bringing light and hope into our community. Today we have this group vegetable garden which will provide food for many families,” said Belito.
“Empowering people to produce their own food has a real impact,” concludes Vimabanai Chakarisa, ForAfrika’s programme quality and development manager. “This is how we move people from surviving to thriving!”
The South African Child Gauge 2020 revealed that in terms of nutrition and food security, high stunting rates, micronutrient deficiencies, and overnutrition (overweight and obesity) are prevalent in its children. It referred to it as the “slow violence of malnutrition”.
Malnutrition is on the rise in South Africa, a middle-income country, as it is in other parts of Africa.
Malnutrition can have devastating effects on a child, including death, but it is preventable. Spotting the signs early enough is also key. In Angolan and South Sudanese malnutrition clinics, we see children with severe acute malnutrition. If they can get to a clinic on time, we are able to save them with therapeutic milk and food.
In South Africa, where malnutrition looks different, our specially formulated porridge has had miraculous results too. The porridge is named CSS+ after its ingredients: Corn, Soya and Sugar while the plus sign indicates the added essential vitamins and minerals necessary for children’s optimal growth and development.
Vincent Mhirisawo started attending Bright Light Early Childhood Development Centre in Somerset West from the age of three.
When ForAfrika visited soon after to conduct routine assessments, where children are weighed, measured and checked for signs of malnutrition, our field workers immediately spotted a sign on Vincent’s little head and arms — they were covered in open sores.
Three months later, however, after a daily dose of CSS+, Vincent’s skin condition had cleared completely. He is now a healthy seven-year old who has done well at primary school.
This is a testament to the super powers of adequate nutrition. The turnaround is relatively simple — just a sprinkling of the right vitamins and minerals over breakfast can turn a life around. It is tragic to think, however, that millions of others don’t get the “magic” ingredients in their diets and could end up being wasted, stunted, obese or worse.
Clarissa Nakulenga, who has been the principal of Nicuapa School in Mozambique for the past 10 years, chuckles cheerfully between questions in an interview.
“I am happy with the mission I was given,” she tells the ForAfrika crew who visited her school earlier this year.
The crew was there to assess its impact in the internally displaced people’s (IDPs) camps it is currently serving in the province of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique. Clarissa’s school, in the district of Montepuez, has taken in a lot of children who had to flee their homes because of the ongoing conflict in the region.
The province has rich gas reserves, but the people who live there are very poor and do not benefit from such wealth. This has caused tension and led to some insurgent groups wreaking violence on innocent families.
According to the World Food Programme, with whom JAM has partnered, more than 700,000 people have been displaced in what is becoming one of the “world’s fastest-growing displacement crises” and a “hunger emergency”.
Innocent people have lost their homes, their livelihoods, their crops and animals. Many have lost members of their families too.
Part of ForAfrika’s response has been to launch a school-feeding programme in host schools whereby children are given a red bowl of highly nutritious food each morning. In just over a month, Clarissa has noticed the changes. Not only for the IDPs but for the host community as well.
“Before the school feeding programme, we struggled to retain children in school,” she says. “We had about 25 in each stream, now we have 50-60!
“We even had a child who quit her school and came here when she found out about the food,” she says, breaking out into her hearty laugh once again. Besides children wanting to attend and stay at school, she has also seen an improvement in grades.
“At school, if children have food, they learn better,” she says, adding that a good foundation lays the path to better options in the future.
“If this project [school feeding programme] continues, the school will gain, the community will gain. Numbers will increase and dropouts decrease. Pupils will have the motivation to come back.”
Women in the Lobule refugee settlement in Uganda are so happy with their communal farming success that they have named their group Nyolenita Ku JAM, which means: “We are happy with *JAM.”
The group comprises 33 members who escaped war in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2013.
“You made 2021 one of our best years since we came to Uganda,” said the group’s spokesperson to Fred Mutenyo, our country programme manager.
“The number of visits that most of our group members would initially make to the clinics /hospitals to treat themselves and their children have drastically dropped due to the nutritious vegetables produced at every household by our members.”
The group has also benefited greatly from learning how to preserve vegetables for the lean season — they were able to store about 50kgs of eggplants (aubergines) and 30kgs of cowpeas by drying them. Any excess is sold at the local markets and the income can be used to buy other groceries, including meat and fish.
The spokesperson said that this year, any profits made would go towards hiring more land and increasing their yield.
“We are yet to harvest our groundnuts, simsim and soybeans and more money will flow into our pockets!” she said.
Another refugee, Aluma Moses, says he was struggling to provide for his children and decided to explore farming as a way to bring in an income. He started attending the gardening training and received some seeds and other resources to set him on his way.
“My family and I now have a constant food supply in the house and do not rely on the food assistance from WFP,” he explains.
Better still he has been able to sell his surplus produce of groundnuts, onions, eggplant, maize, cabbages and tomatoes to make money for essentials not provided by the aid programmes. He even managed to buy a goat doe, who has since given him four kids!
Aluma now has the beginnings of a small business.
*For Afrika is previously known as JAM
Angola is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years, leaving many, but particularly women and children, exposed to food insecurity and malnutrition. The 2021 Integrated Phase Classification (which is the widely accepted scale used to describe the severity of food emergencies) showed that in some drought-affected provinces about 49% of households were in phases 3 (crisis) or 4 (emergency). ForAfrika conducted a nutrition SMART survey (that assesses the nutritional status of children under five and the mortality rate of the population) with the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the preliminary findings of which show that one in six children suffer from acute malnutrition in Benguela province alone.
The security situation in Cabo Delgado, which started in 2017, remains volatile and the humanitarian situation fragile. An attack in Palma in late March left dozens dead and an additional 80,000 people displaced, bringing the total number of displaced people to more than 700,000. Most of these people remain dependent on humanitarian aid, as they attempt to rebuild their lives from scratch. Mozambique is a country hard hit by climate change, with more and more tropical storms reaching her shores. Cyclone Eloise made landfall in January 2021 devastating five of the countries provinces. We are making concerted efforts to have emergency reserves available and increase our mitigation programmes, to increase resilience when disasters strike.
The world was stunned when in July, devastating riots rocked South Africa. Sparked by protests at the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma, the reaction quickly escalated out of control, fueled by frustration at the poor economic status of the country. People ransacked shopping malls, burnt down businesses and disrupted supply chain routes. Many people lost their lives, others their livelihoods and food was scarce. This on the back of the devastating impact of COVID and the current 40% unemployment rate in South Africa, has more people facing food insecurity. Increased stunting and malnutrition noted across the country is a grave concern and has kept us very focused on the Early Childhood Development sector in South Africa.
The East African country is still reeling from the worst flooding in 60 years. Above normal rainfall for the third consecutive year in 2021 led to prolonged flooding and impacted an estimated 835,000 people. The humanitarian crisis was further exacerbated by intercommunal conflicts triggering displacements in various locations. In 2021, a total of 7.7 million people needed food assistance, while a further 1.4 million children and 480,000 pregnant or lactating women were acutely malnourished and needed treatment.
We worked with over 500 young people at our skills programme at the Fred Nkunda Centre, teaching them marketable skills. This project has been so successful over the years that we were able to hand the project over to our local Rwandan management team, who are now continuing to run the project under their own local NGO, which is primarily funded through local sources, allowing us to shift our focus to other areas in Rwanda. Despite Rwanda’s remarkable turnaround since the devastating genocide in 1994, there are pockets of poverty in the country where children are not being educated or receiving adequate nutrition.
Our model of moving people “from surviving to thriving” has proved very successful. Refugees and host communities have come together to coexist peacefully while also developing communal farming blocks that have increased food security and livelihoods and have empowered them economically. We look forward to translating these programmes into other areas.
Paul Edwards
Chairperson
Ann Pretorius
Founding Director
Isak Pretorius
Group Chief Executive Office
Nico Esterhuizen
Group Chief Financial Officer
Muhammad Muntasir Nawool
Board Member
Muhammad Muzammil Rengony
Board Member
Killen Otieno
Chief Operating Officer
Amanda Koech Otieno
Chief Programmes Officer
Fiona Hannig
Chief Communications Officer
Simon McGregor
Chief Development Officer
Dr Mary Okumu
Chief Technical Director
Terri Pretorius
Group Marketing Officer
Celio Njinga
Country Director Angola
Arsénio Mucavele
Country Director Mozambique
Sihle Mooi
Country Director South Africa
Abeba Amene
Country Director South Sudan
Bosco Mfashingoma
Project Co-ordinator Rwanda
Fred Mutenyo
Programmes Manager Uganda
Simon McGregor
Canada
Sabine Wenz
Germany
Nelli Sattler
Switzerland
Simon McGregor
United Kingdom
Eddie Brown
United States
Lisa Rollnes
Norway
Name:
Philip Thon Garang
Birth Place:
Sudan
Position:
Area Manager of Aweil, South Sudan
What I love about my job:
“I really enjoy the development projects that build resilience in the communities of Aweil. These projects are full of ideas and innovations.”
Most memorable moment of 2021:
“When I won the Innovation Award at ForAfrika’s staff awards evening in 2021!”
Name:
Arsenio Mucavele
Birth place:
Mozambique
Position:
Country Director Mozambique
What I love about my job:
“Working at ForAfrika is a dream come true, especially considering I grew up in an area where it all started. I consider humanitarian work a calling from God.”
Most memorable moment of 2021:
“In 2021 we won a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to deliver food to more than 70 schools in Cabo Delgado, Inhambane and Sofala, where food insecurity is high.”
Gi fra Norge
Geben Sie aus der Schweiz
Give from SA
Give from rest of world
Paul Edwards is a serial entrepreneur who has successfully built several businesses into leading companies.
His CV lists an impressive array of positions held at major companies around the world and he is also a regular speaker at international conferences on topics such as satellite communications, telecommunications, payments, and doing business successfully in Africa.
Paul is currently Executive Chairman of Equilibre Bio-energy Production Ltd and Chairman of ZappGroup, Africa Ltd.
Additionally, Paul is also a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business and a member of EDS’s Europe’s Advisory Board.
Ann Pretorius and her late husband, Peter, founded Joint Aid Management (JAM), now known as ForAfrika, in 1984.
For almost 40 years, they served the organisation as co-founders, strategic planners and tireless foot soldiers. Together they received several prestigious accolades, were one of five finalists in the AidEx 2014 Humanitarian Hero of the Year Award and winners of the 2018 African Ubuntu Award for Social Responsibility.
After Peter’s passing in August 2018, Ann assumed the role of CEO of the JAM Group. Her passion, determination, unique interpersonal skills and vast experience in administration and marketing, have helped steer the group to its pre-eminent position as Africa’s largest indigenous non-governmental organisation, serving millions of people in six countries.
A mother of six, with 14 grandchildren, Ann genuinely understands and appreciates the value of the family foundation and is fully supportive of the decisions and direction the new leadership, under her son Isak, is taking.
Ghanaian businesswoman Roberta Annan founded Annan Capital Partners, a boutique investment advisory and business development agency, in 2012 (as Roberta Annan Consulting).
She has extensive experience in establishing relationships between the public and the private sectors, and in executing market-entry strategies into sub-Saharan Africa.
She launched the African Fashion Foundation in 2014, followed by the Impact Fund for African Creatives in 2021. Among the many awards accorded to her, Annan was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2019 Women’s Choice Awards Africa.
Muzammil Rengony started his career in 2011 in the field of accounting, taxation and auditing as a client assistant and is now client service manager for Adansonia Management Services Ltd in Mauritius, where ForAfrika is registered.
While managing a team of accountants and administrators who are responsible for a portfolio of clients, he is also pursuing his studies towards his Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification.
Muzammil acts as a director for a number of global businesses and part of his duties include the day-to-day administration of ForAfrika as well as being a board member.
Najiba Bauker kicked off her career as a corporate administrator in the Mauritian global business sector and is currently team leader at Adansonia Management Services Ltd.
In addition to serving as a board member of ForAfrika, Najiba also handles -day-to-day administrative tasks.
She acts as a director for a number of other global businesses administered by Adansonia and is pursuing her studies towards her Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification.
Isak Pretorius is the son of social entrepreneurs Peter and Ann Pretorius, who founded JAM International, out of which ForAfrika has risen.
With a BComm degree and 20 years of humanitarian services and business experience on the continent, he is well positioned to drive the organisation into the future while staying true to its vision of an Africa that thrives.
He is passionate about impactful development in Africa and bridging the gap between non-profit and for-profit entities.
Isak has also played a role in advising many governments, donor entities and large NGOs on sustainable programmes and has been a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) since 2009.
Nico Esterhuizen is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in the United Kingdom and is a Certified Internal Auditor with the Institute of Internal Auditors.
With almost 20 years of experience in financial services and insurance, he is currently a member of the Audit and Risk Committee of Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) and was appointed Chairperson of ACCA South Africa Board in late 2020.
He holds a Master of Science degree in professional accountancy (with distinction) from the University of London and is currently completing a MPhil degree in Leadership in Emerging Economies.
Furthermore, Nico is part of a Christian outreach ministry in South Africa and holds motivational talks on life’s purpose.
Isak Pretorius is the son of social entrepreneurs Peter and Ann Pretorius, who founded JAM International, out of which ForAfrika has risen.
With a BComm degree and 20 years of humanitarian services and business experience on the continent, he is well positioned to drive the organisation into the future while staying true to its vision of an Africa that thrives.
He is passionate about impactful development in Africa and bridging the gap between non-profit and for-profit entities.
Isak has also played a role in advising many governments, donor entities and large NGOs on sustainable programmes and has been a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) since 2009.
Simon McGregor moved into his current role at ForAfrika in 2023, having previously been Chief Development Officer from 2021-2022 and managing director of the organisation’s UK office from 2019 to 2021.
Simon’s background and impressive career is in financial research, corporate finance and stock transfer. He founded various companies that have gone on to enjoy major success.
He was a managing director at LSE-listed Equiniti Group plc with responsibility for proxy advisory, cross border listings and stock analysis before becoming a partner responsible for corporate finance at Africa-focused consultancy, Afriscope.
Abeba Amene moved into her current role after serving as Country Director for South Sudan, ForAfrika’s largest programme to date.
With over 17 years of humanitarian and development programming experience in fragile contexts, Abeba has led teams in various country offices, managing medium and large-scale programmes including at Oxfam in the United Kingdom where she served as the Regional Policy and Advocacy Advisor.
With an in-depth contextual understanding of humanitarian and development trends in East Africa as well as in the Horn of Africa and extensive experience in programme design and implementation, Abeba is dedicated to seeing the positive transformation of communities.
Her unshakable commitment to realising a better future for children is drawn from many years of working alongside some of Africa’s most marginalised communities.
Nico Esterhuizen is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in the United Kingdom and is a Certified Internal Auditor with the Institute of Internal Auditors.
With almost 20 years of experience in financial services and insurance, he is currently a member of the Audit and Risk Committee of Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) and was appointed Chairperson of ACCA South Africa Board in late 2020.
He holds a Master of Science degree in professional accountancy (with distinction) from the University of London and is currently completing a MPhil degree in Leadership in Emerging Economies.
Furthermore, Nico is part of a Christian outreach ministry in South Africa and holds motivational talks on life’s purpose.
Sarah Eldon has 20 years’ experience in the international non-governmental organisation and charity sector, specialising in fundraising, communications and programme management.
She has successfully managed diverse teams and organisational change in challenging environments, built solid relationships with partners and increased revenue.
She has also been on the ground, developing and implementing sustainable, gold-standard programmes in a number of countries from Morocco to Zambia.
Starting out as a banker, Arsénio Mucavele pursued a career in administration and logistics working as Support Services Manager at PSI (Population Services International) where he analysed financial pipelines to donors and supervised procurement and logistics staff.
He joined ForAfrika in 2008 as an Administration and Logistics Officer and has risen through the ranks since then, taking over as country director in 2020.
Along the way, Arsénio has become an expert in Mozambican labour law, which has been crucial for the effective functioning of the organisation.
Under his leadership, the country office has gone from strength to strength, and has gained valuable partners that include UNICEF and USAid.
Bosco Mfashingoma has a Master’s degree in economics and has spent the past four years working mainly in community economic empowerment and youth leadership development for NGOs.
A women’s rights activist, he has been involved in numerous projects, advocacy and policymaking around gender-based violence and other issues affecting women, such as reproductive and maternal health.
In his current role, he will be working towards a new strategy for operations in Rwanda, his home country.
Célio Njinga is a humanitarian professional with various qualifications to his name. He obtained a degree in health science from Lisbon University and holds postgraduate diplomas in humanitarian response and health management.
Additionally he holds various certificates from Johns Hopkins, University of Genève and the Kilimanjaro & Christian Medical College.
Celio, who is Angolan, previously worked as Grant Technical Advisor for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Health Programme Manager at World Vision Angola and was also the Provisional Co-ordinator for the Neglected Tropical Disease project.
Fluent in four languages: Portuguese, English, French and Hungarian, Célio is passionate about development in Angola.
Fred Mutenyo is a humanitarian professional with over 20 years’ experience at various international development agencies, specialising in agricultural, development and peace projects.
Backed by an undergraduate degree in agriculture and Master’s degrees in agricultural economics, monitoring and evaluation, Fred has run a variety of successful food security, livelihoods and economic empowerment projects in Uganda.
He was recently awarded a place on the Master of Science in Management course at the National College of Ireland.
His superpower, however, is an irrepressible passion and can-do attitude which he applies to any project or problem.
Leader Kwami Makumator is a humanitarian professional with over 17 years’ working experience. He holds an MSc in Project Management from the University of Wales and has worked in various countries, including Afghanistan and South Sudan.
Leader started his humanitarian activities with the United Nations before joining ForAfrika in April 2015. He has worked in several positions within the organisation, rising to the position of Director of Operations before his recent appointment as Acting Country Director for the South Sudan programme.
Leader has a proven track record, managing teams to exceed targets, drive successful operations, embark on new projects as well as maintaining ongoing operations.
Mashall Makamanzi joined ForAfrika as Operations Director for the South African office and is currently serving as Acting Country Director.
Mashall followed up his Bachelor of Technology (Management) degree with a Master of Business Administration. He also has a Certified Internal Auditor designation from the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors.
He brings more than 25 years’ experience garnered from working in a number of African countries with a variety of private and non-profit organisations.
Alex Burrough joined ForAfrika in 2022 and heads up the affiliate office in the United Kingdom where she is responsible for creating awareness, ensuring that donors are cared for, and growing the income for the UK office which supports our vital community projects.
She is an internationally experienced manager who has worked in the social enterprises, international non-governmental and UK charity sectors for many years both on and off the field.
Before returning to England, Alex had spent 10 years in Zambia, running successful social enterprises and sustainable development programmes.
Her key skills are in fundraising, business development and programmes’ management with a knack for devising new campaign ideas to suit unique challenges.
Edward, or Eddie, as he is better known, brings to ForAfrika a wealth of international experience spanning three decades and covering the full spectrum of humanitarian and development work.
Prior to joining us, Eddie was with World Vision for over 23 years, including six years as National Director of Ethiopia. He also served as National Director in Zimbabwe (2010-2016) and was Senior Director for World Vision US Humanitarian Emergency Affairs, Relief Director in Angola and had numerous leadership roles in Sierra Leone.
He was also a highly decorated non-commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps from 1989 to 1993, earning the Combat Action and two Humanitarian Service medals among other awards.
He has been a part-time PhD student at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies and earned a Master's degree in International Affairs from Columbia University. He is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish and has travelled to over 100 countries.
Elias Koller, who heads up the Swiss affiliate office, is a young professional with years of experience in the fields of international education, sustainable development, social pedagogy and social (pedagogical) inclusiveness.
Elias has a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a Master’s in Disaster Management from the University of Copenhagen.
He spent five years living abroad practising intercultural exchange in various countries, including Kosovo, Canada, Turkey, Laos, Togo, India, Brazil, Germany, Denmark and the Czech Republic.
Previous employers include the Red Cross, where he was operations manager and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, where he worked in crisis management.
Sabine Wenz is the Managing Director of the German affiliate office.
She established the office in 2004, when ForAfrika was still JAM, and has gained experience in almost all areas of the organisation over the years.
Her background in a number of start-ups has assisted her to successfully fundraise for various projects and emergencies and she has accompanied many groups of volunteers to work on school infrastructure renovations.
Before she ventured into development work, she worked for various start-ups and now enjoys passing on her knowledge and expertise to her team of five.
Her strengths lie in corporate management, fundraising and marketing and her passion for Africa and its people.
Charles Wentzel has been leading ForAfrika’s Disaster Response Unit since April 2021. During this period, we have steadily increased capacity and responded to emergencies in Mozambique, Angola, South Sudan, South Africa, Uganda and the Central African Republic.
Charles grew up in an Airborne Regiment of South Africa, holds an MBA from Heriot Watt University, and obtained certification from the Project Management Institute in 2012.
He threw his weight into the humanitarian sector with JAM in 2000, leading the organisation’s Emergency Response Unit, the launch of the water drilling and purification division and the opening of the country programme in South Sudan. He then went on to set up humanitarian operations funded by the US and UK governments and private entities in a host of countries.
Trademarks of his work are rapid development of local capacity, creation of management information systems and efficiency. He loves agriculture, empowering local communities and linking emergency relief to economic development.
Cisca Pretorius is a Chartered Accountant with more than 15 years’ experience in her field.
She has an Honours Bachelor of Accounting Science, is a registered auditor with the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors in South Africa and is assigned to the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Cisca has a clear understanding of audit and accounting processes and considerable experience in finance and implementing procedures to manage business effectively.
Keeping on top of projects and making sure all parts get to the finish line at the same time is what she does best. Cisca travels extensively to ensure that all ForAfrika’s country offices are on the same page and compliant with our high financial standards and procedures.
Dr Mary Okumu is an accomplished development expert in health policy and health service delivery and has about 38 years of experience at various humanitarian organisations around the world, including the African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF), Oxfam and the United Nations, where she has served at senior levels, including being a Representative of UN Women in Sierra Leone.
She has been responsible for generating groundbreaking programmes in maternal and child health as well as community upliftment and organisational development projects in more than 15 African countries.
She strongly believes in the participation of the community, especially the youth, in all development initiatives since this ensures local ownership and sustainable transformation. She also believes that gender mainstreaming is an important strategy in achieving equitable and sustainable human development.
Dr Okumu holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health (Maternal and Child Health) and a PhD in Human Rights Law.
Eugene Keague is an experienced operational executive with more than 20 years of experience managing several large teams across various sectors, including supply chain, logistics and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
His list of responsibilities at ForAfrika is long and varied and includes capacity building, fleet and asset management, business systems development, emergency procurement and security.
Eugene regularly travels the continent, visiting our programmes and advising country offices on a range of issues from supply chain to ICT.
Fiona Hannig moved into the humanitarian sector after spending most of her career in a corporate environment at Liberty Holdings where she gained 11 years of experience in integrated external and internal communication, stakeholder and media management, change communication and leadership communication.
Backed by a master’s degree in English, Fiona has travelled the world and is accustomed to operating in countries with diverse languages and cultures. She has an entrepreneurial spirit and ran a successful children’s book enterprise — creating numerous bestsellers in her wake — before joining ForAfrika.
To the NGO world she brings her hallmark of delivering measurable value and return on investment and her passion for driving special marketing projects that go beyond business-as-usual.
Jane King’ara comes to the organisation with a wealth of experience in the HR field, including time spent working in five of our programme countries — South Africa, Mozambique, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan — with various organisations.
She holds a Global Executive MBA, a Bachelor of Arts degree and has a number of additional qualifications to her name. Before joining ForAfrika, Jane was working as an HR and change management consultant.
She feels strongly that making an impact in Africa can only happen sustainably through partnering with communities and understanding their needs.
Susannah Hastings joined ForAfrika in 2021 as Chief of Staff, where she serves as the primary point of contact for all matters pertaining to the office of the Group CEO, Isak Pretorius.
She is also responsible for overseeing special projects as designated by the CEO.
Before joining ForAfrika, Susannah worked for the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), a worldwide leadership community of chief executives. She has many years’ experience working with and supporting business leadership.
Terri Pretorius was born and raised in South Africa and grew up with an acute awareness of the injustices that exist on the continent.
After a 10-year career in the media industry she changed course to pursue her life’s desire to serve Africa and its people.
Terri has filled various positions at ForAfrika over the past decade and in her current role is custodian of the brand and responsible for the development of tools that support the efforts of our fundraising offices.
