Our team

Team GAGA

The Board of Trustees

Tony Weller is the Chairman of our Board of Trustees. An Australian living & working in London, Tony spends a good deal of his life travelling for both work and pleasure. He is passionate about GAGA and the projects we support and is always keen to participate in an innovative fundraiser!

Charlie Homer black & white head and shoulder photo

Charlie Homer is the Vice-Chairman of our Board of Trustees, he has been involved in GAGA since the very early days and was, in fact, our first Director. Charlie has lived and worked in South Africa and he knows the area we operate in very well. He has travelled extensively through Eastern and Southern Africa on sabbatical in 2019 and currently holds the post of Head of Fundraising and Communications at a hospice in Worcestershire.

Mandy Barrie black & white head and shoulder picture

Mandy Barrie joined the Board of Trustees in 2016 and she is also a Trustee of the charity KYGN UK which supports the Primary School, Kilimanjaro Young Girls in Need in Tanzania. Mandy brings her experience of KYGN to the GAGA Board and currently holds the office of Treasurer.

Sarah Hodgson colour head shot

Sarah Hodgson joined the Board of Trustees following a period of nearly four years as the Director of GAGA and she now holds the office of Secretary. A First Class honours graduate in International Relations, Sarah has travelled extensively in the southern hemisphere and worked as a monitoring and evaluating coordinator for over two years in an Early Childhood development project in Kwa Zulu Natal. We are delighted to retain Sarah's knowledge and experience in GAGA in her role as trustee.

Richard Lucas is a management consultant specialising in organisational development and business transformation. Joining the GAGA Board of Trustees in 2019 his particular focus will be to help us develop our proposal to Corporate donors. He worked extensively on a volunteer basis with the leadership team of one of the Prince’s charities, Youth Business International, helping them to develop from a small team, to launching as an independent charity and onwards to a team of over 30 at the centre of a network of youth entrepreneurship programmes across the world.

GAGA Employees

Claire Whatley black & white head and shoulder photo

Claire Whatley joined GAGA as the Director at the start of 2019, after fundraising and volunteering with GAGA for a couple of years. She is a qualified accountant and had a career in financial services before moving to the third sector. Having grown up in southern Africa, Claire has a strong affinity with that part of the world and she is passionate about her role with GAGA and using her skills to maximise the impacts for beneficiaries from the generosity of donors and supporters here in the UK.

Debbie Young black & white

Debbie Young lives in KwaZulu Natal and has been associated with GAGA since the early days. Debbie is the eyes and ears on the ground for us, she can react quickly if needed and she provides valuable insight into new project opportunities. She manages our Sangobeg Scholarship programme and is the first point of contact for all of our students in South Africa.

GAGA Ambassadors

Ann Smith black & white head and shoulder picture

Ann Smith is the foundation of GAGA, she has been working indefatigably to promote and support this charity since her granddaughter first told her about an orphanage in KwaZulu Natal where she had volunteered. Ann served as a Trustee until May 2021 and continues to support GAGA as an ambassador. Ann maintains GAGA's links with Rotary and WI organisations, opening up opportunities for us to give talks, sell our handmade, beadwork and participate in joint fundraising events.

Latest

Recent Unrest in Kwa Zulu Natal

Along with many of you we are devastated to hear about the recent unrest in Kwa Zulu Natal. Although this has taken place in close proximity to our beneficiary projects and our students' places of study we are pleased to say that no-one has been hurt. However, the impact is still devastating, causing food & fuel shortages, and lack of chronic medication in the short term and likely higher prices and loss of jobs to follow.
GAGA UK Impact Report 2019/20

Here is our annual impact report for the 12 months just before the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the world.
GAGA Quiz Night

We're doing a QUIZ!!! Details to follow....
GAGA UK Impact Report 2020/21

As a small charity we understand how important it is to demonstrate the impact your donations have. Writing our annual impact report is always a delight as it gives us the opportunity to reflect on how "great things are done by a series of small things brought together"

Support us

Thanks for visiting our website! Whether you arrived here from FaceBook or some other link it's great to see you! We love our supporters to #getinvolved in all we do and there are so many ways that you can. Just have a look at the page below!
Our team

GAGA's operates with a single UK employee and a Board of Trustees who provide oversight and use their knowledge and experience in support of the achievement of our charitable objects. We are further supported by a project co-ordinator in South Africa and have strong links with project delivery teams, other NGO's and Rotary groups in the UK and southern Africa.
Mission and vision

We believe every child deserves a future to look forward to. So we raise funds to strengthen the provision of education and healthcare for orphans and vulnerable children and their care givers in Southern Africa, from infancy to independence. If you agree that every child deserves a future and you believe in helping where you can, please join us. Together we can make a difference.
General Fund

Thank you for considering a donation, regular planned giving, through a standing order allows us to plan ahead allowing for a more sustainable future for GAGA and the projects we support. Of course, we are always grateful for a one-off donation, if you feel that you cannot commit to a regular donation and there are lots of ways you can support us indirectly through selecting charitable giving portals when you are shopping on-line. We're registered with Amazon Smile, Give as You Live, and more!
KYGN Tumaini Foundation Primary

Kilimanjaro Young Girls in Need exists to support the education of primary aged children and provide a safe house for vulnerable girls at the Tumaini Foundation Primary School in Tanzania. The school is working hard towards being sustainable but the double impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and loss of a major donor is making 2021 very challenging.
About us

As a small independent charity GAGA is able to listen to our donors and our beneficiaries and make decisions in a collaborative way. We all know our projects very well and welcome new ideas and projects that fit well with our aims and objects . GAGA understands the commitment donors are making and we honour that with regular, open communication.
Making a difference across the community

The relief shipment we sent to South Africa has arrived and is being distributed to the people who attend the 1000 Hills Community Helpers this winter in South Africa! Next week is the start of Spring in South Africa but the weather in 2020 has been the coldest for many years, with freezing rain, biting winds and even snow!
We Have Moved!

We've moved out of our offices and are now working from home! You can still call us on +44 (0)1789 414088 and you can write to us at GAGA UK, PO Box 6751, Stratford upon Avon CV37 1UQ
Current partners

At Goodwill and Growth for Africa (GAGA) UK we believe that we are stronger together and that sustainable, meaningful change is achieved when organisations work together. For that reason we prioritise building and maintaining links with like-minded organisations, whatever their size.
Our work