leadership

Marianne Kent-Stoll had dreamed of going to Africa since she was eight years old, when she saw the film Born Free, set in Kenya. In 2007, after the last of her four children went away to college, her dream came true when she and her husband Don visited the Tanzanian village of Dareda Kati. She never imagined that she and Don would return to the village every year for the next decade to work with its people to build a better future.

In addition to serving as President of Karimu, Marianne is Assistant Head of Idyllwild Arts Academy, in Southern California, where more than half of the students are international. Her 35 years in education, her appreciation of cultural diversity, her leadership skills, and a love of Africa that grows deeper with every visit inform her work in Dareda Kati, where she hopes to be able to spend several months every year once she retires from Idyllwild Arts.

Don Stoll, who holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from The Pennsylvania State University, enjoys the good fortune of living fifty yards from his office in the Admissions building of Idyllwild Arts Academy (IAA), in Southern California, where he and Marianne live in a house on campus. He takes great joy in his Admissions work, which focuses on bringing artistically gifted international students to IAA. Although some three dozen countries are represented this year, he is still searching for IAA’s first Tanzanian student. Don has been Karimu’s Treasurer from the day of its founding because he admits to a talent for the sufferance of tedium and to a somewhat peculiar obsession with mathematical precision. With Marianne, he has co-led each of Karimu’s annual visits to Tanzania except in 2015 and 2017, when concerns about the health of some members of his family in California kept him at home.

During his 30-year career as a technical executive in Silicon Valley, Nelson Mattos was Google’s Vice-President of Product and Engineering for Europe and Emerging Markets, an IBM Distinguished Engineer, and Vice-President for Information and User Technologies, as well as an Associate Professor at the University of Kaiserslautern, in Germany. Currently, Nelson is an independent consultant, an advisor to startups, a member of the Board of Directors of organizations around the world, and a frequent speaker at conferences. He leverages his experience and cultural skills, acquired by having lived on multiple continents and traveled extensively across the globe, to mentor professionals worldwide and to help organizations create technical solutions that will have a positive impact, particularly in emerging markets. He is actively involved in charity projects in East Africa and Southeast Asia. Nelson became a volunteer for Karimu in 2016 and its COO in 2017.

Dr. Hughmanick has been a practicing Obstetrics and Gynecology physician in California since 1990. She graduated from Dartmouth Medical School with Honors in 1986 and completed her residency at Arizona Health Sciences Center, in Tucson, in 1990. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. Since 2010, she has served as a Board Member for Karimu and led its health initiatives, focusing on child and maternal health in pregnancy and during birth. This involves training village midwives and clinic staff in prenatal care, triage for high-risk mothers, and basic interventions in obstetrical emergencies. She works to obtain donations of vitally needed supplies and partners with organizations such as Medshare, Assist International, We Care Solar, and the Hesperian Foundation to assist Karimu’s medical projects.

Rev. Jasson Joas Kahembe is Deputy General Secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania’s North Central Diocese. He is also Director of the Manyara Community Development Organization and advisor to several other community development projects. His background is in theology, business administration, educational administration, and planning and policy. As a Lutheran minister whose level of piety is typical of the community that Karimu serves, Jasson wishes to emphasize his dedication to bringing positive change to people around the globe so that they can enjoy God’s creation.

Shau Erro Ae attended Bacho Primary School, Dareda Mission High School, and Ruaha Catholic University, in Iringa, in central Tanzania, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in History and Swahili in 2015. Since graduating and returning to Dareda Kati, Shau has been the village’s Youth Chairman, an active member of the local Catholic church’s extraordinary choir, and a volunteer teacher at Bacho Primary School, focusing on maintaining the school’s high pass rate on the national exam to qualify for secondary school. Shau has joined Karimu in 2017 in order to collect data, measure the impact of Karimu’s projects, and drive initiatives on the ground. Since April 2018, Shau has been treasurer of Karimu Heart and Spirit Organization in Tanzania.

Sifaeli Kaaya’s gentle demeanor reflects neither his youthful participation in the Uganda-Tanzania war of four decades ago, nor his subsequent role in the Tanzanian government’s aggressive campaign against poaching. Both Sifaeli and his wife belong to the Meru tribe, whose homeland lies near Mt. Kilimanjaro, nearly a hundred miles east of Dareda Kati. Yet they have called Dareda Kati home for some 20 years, ever since his encyclopedic knowledge of Tanzanian agriculture earned him a job as supervisor of the farm that was designed to support the Lutheran Diocese of Arusha’s new Integrated Agricultural Training Center, built in one of Dareda Kati’s most fertile valleys. During the annual Karimu visit to Dareda Kati, Sifaeli’s devotion to improving life in the village and his formidable skill as a translator make him the Karimu volunteers’ constant and indispensable companion. Since April 2018, Kaaya has been a board member of Karimu Heart and Spirit Organization in Tanzania.

John Kahembe holds a Master’s degree in Engineering Management, awarded by the University of Dar es Salaam. He is owner and Managing Director of Cotech Developers (http://www.cotech.co.tz/), specializing in building works, civil works, and well-drilling. John’s experience in project management and community development reaches back to 2006.

Daniel Amma has been involved with Karimu from the beginning. He came to Ufani Primary School as a teacher in 2005 and played a pivotal role in consulting on the improvements that Karimu brought to the school. Financial assistance by Karimu helped him earn his Bachelor’s degree in education in 2014, and two years later he was appointed Ufani’s Head Teacher. Only months after that, however, he was promoted to serve as Education Officer of Secheda Ward, bordering Ayalagaya Ward, where Daniel still lives with his wife, Victoria, and their son and daughter. His many local leadership roles include service as the accountant and one of the signatories of the co-op microlending group, UFAGRO. Integrity, dedication to the well-being of the community, and calm analytic intelligence make Daniel the most trusted local advisor to Karimu’s work. Since April 2018, Mr. Amma is also a member of the Karimu Heart and Spirit Organization in Tanzania.

Veronika has a certificate in community development from the Catholic Church as well as a certificate in farming from the Bacho Institute in Tanzania. She is an influential member of the local community where she leads the women group of the Catholic Church, is the chairperson of the Midwives’ association, and the secretary of the UFAGRO savings group.

Yohana works with Manyara Community Development Organization full time as Education Program Officer. He holds a bachelor degree in Sociology. Prior to his position, Yohana worked with various organizations in community development projects in the Manyara region. Currently he facilitates education programs and runs entrepreneurial and health trainings to communities in Manyara.

Jackson Robert Munuo is working with the Babati District Council as Game officer with BSc in Wildlife management and Masters of Arts in Natural Resources Assessment and Management (MANRAM). He is also working with other organization whose aim is to improve the livelihood (education, healthy, environment and empowerment) of communities.