Scholars

Atupere Phiri is a professional from Malawi with a passion for engaging and supporting underprivileged communities. With over ten years of progressive clinical and community work experience, Atupere is a clinician by profession, holding a Master’s of Science in Management Studies from the Malawi Institute of Management. Currently employed as a Program Mentor for the Palliative Care Program within the Integrated Chronic Care Clinic (IC3) system, Atupere has successfully conducted training, mentorship, and supervision for healthcare workers in nine government-owned health facilities in Neno. As a program supervisor, Atupere Phiri actively participates in quality improvement projects aimed at addressing gaps in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Neno. Atupere firmly believes that poverty is a major contributor to social injustice in developing countries, including Malawi. As a health professional, Atupere is committed to improving the health outcomes of underprivileged communities by providing comprehensive care and treatment through a biopsychosocial approach.

Daniel Ng’andu is a tech enthusiast who is passionate about making a community impact. He graduated with a degree in Computer Science from the Copperbelt University in Zambia in 2018 and is driven by the potential of technology to revolutionize healthcare delivery and improve the well-being of underserved populations. He actively engages in global and national technical working groups, such as the Digital Square Digital Health & Interoperability Working Group, the Ministry of Health M&E and Digital Health Technical Working Groups, and the Health Data Collaborative Digital Health & Interoperability Working Group. With over five years of experience as a software engineer, he has contributed to three transformative national projects, particularly in the tax and healthcare sectors. Currently, as a project officer at PATH Zambia he leads the Zambia Digital Community Health Project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He seeks to bridge the gap between healthcare and technology, ensuring that communities benefit from digital tools and innovations.

Dione Sharon has five years of experience in peacebuilding and humanitarian coordination programming. She has a Master’s Degree in International Relations and Social Science from the Protestant University of Central Africa and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Buea. She is also Certified in Disaster Risk and Humanitarian Management from the Pan African Institute for Development – West Africa and is an alumnus of the Young African Leaders Initiatives (YALI). She currently works as INGO Forum Officer, fostering coordination initiatives, collaboration, joint research, analysis, and advocacy among 24 international NGOs advancing emergency relief and development response within complex security contexts in Cameroon. Prior to this role, Sharon volunteered with the Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network as a Program Consultant where she facilitated joint program coordination, collaboration, and learning for effective peacebuilding by youth organizations within the Network in Cameroon. Sharon previously led as the program team lead for a National Peacebuilding NGO, implementing peace and conflict management initiatives including USAID-funded community peace and security initiatives, peace research and policy, as well as community dialogue, and mediation processes. She is a lifelong learner, passionate, and committed to supporting collaboration and partnership in delivering humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding.

Folashade Abimbola has over nine years of experience working with women, children, adolescents, girls, and other marginalized and vulnerable groups in society. Her expertise includes early childhood development, child protection and safeguarding, HIV/AIDS prevention, community and stakeholder engagement, and program monitoring and evaluation. Folashade has worked on various program teams who implemented projects and programs with Save the Children International, USAID, AIDS Prevention Initiative in Nigeria (APIN), Positive Action for Children Fund (PACF), Mercy Corp, and Management Sciences for Health (MSH) among many others. Presently, she is on the Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) team of Women for Women International (WfWI). Folashade is passionate about the rights of women, girls, and marginalized groups and continues to add her voice to ending biases, and long-seated social and cultural norms which impede these marginalized and vulnerable groups from living full and fulfilling lives.

Godiya Makama brings over seven years of experience in the humanitarian sector, complemented by a degree in Law from the University of Jos in Nigeria. Her tenure at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Northeast Nigeria involved providing crucial support to children and families affected by the Boko Haram crisis, ensuring the restoration of disrupted lives. Throughout her time at IRC Nigeria, Godiya served as the most senior female national staff, acting as a source of motivation for many women within the organization, particularly in the highly patriarchal context of Northeast Nigeria. Currently serving as the Deputy Director of Programs for the IRC Yemen Country Program, Godiya works closely with technical coordinators to uphold program quality in Yemen. In addition to her professional responsibilities, Godiya is dedicated to enhancing her leadership skills. She aspires to support other women, both within and outside the IRC, who are interested in developing their own leadership abilities. By strengthening her own capabilities, Godiya aims to empower and uplift women within the organization and the wider community.

Ibrahim Balami was born and raised in Borno state the epicenter of the Boko Haram insurgency in northeastern Nigeria. I joined the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in 2017 to privde humanitarian assistance and support to enable people whose live and livelihood had been shattered by the protracted crisis survive and recover from the after math of the Boko Haram Insurgency, my roles in the IRC include Leading the implementation of SRH-WPE Program Integration, Adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) operational research, supporting integrated women and girl-centered service models, piloting a harm reduction approach for unsafe abortion care, health promotion and community engagement, multisectoral program management as well as Research had helped me over the years to give hope to my community and shape my passion and commitment for the Humanitarian world. I am committed to building client responsiveness and removing community level barriers, increasing adolescent and community meaningful engagement in project design and implementation, creating supportive attitudes towards the provision of services, advocating for Human rights approach to services in extremely conservative settings. As a gender equality Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) champion and Nigeria Country Program GEDI Lead and Member of IRC global GEDI council. I am open minded and a quick learner and i look forward to transmiting new learnings and skills from this porgram to the day to day activities at the IRC.

Indiana Siu holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy and a Master’s in Arts with focus in Asia at Chengchi University in Taiwan. She currently serves as Regional Director for Operation Smile in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Her interests are to further Operation Smile’s impact in rural sites, build local capacity, and ramp up programs to promote health access and timely quality care. Indiana strongly believes that more than ever nonprofit health organizations have a duty to support their beneficiaries and become more centered around patients’ needs; how to overcome their barriers to care and avoid catastrophic health expenditure. Before being promoted to Regional Director she served as Executive Director for the Nicaragua chapter, becoming one of the strongest foundations of Operation Smile in Latin America by providing completeness of care for patients born with cleft and expanding programs to impact the public system.

Jarra Darboe has thirteen years of experience in administration and finance at Tostan Gambia. She holds an advanced diploma in Business Management Studies from the Gambia Technical Training Institute. She has developed annual project budgets, financial reporting, budget management, and managerial competences. Jarra’s work at Tostan focuses on empowering communities to develop and implement their vision for the future. Tostan’s transformative education program and the community empowerment programs have reached tens of thousands of participants in the Gambia. Her efforts alongside her team have supported a wide range of community-led impacts in education and beyond, including health, economic empowerment, environment, local governance and women empowerment.