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Goodwill & Growth for Africa

Registered Charity No. 1092028

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  • Our team
  1. About us
  2. Our team

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 is 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.

Elena has experience of living and working in countries of South East Asia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Southern Africa. She has first-hand experience of designing, delivering and monitoring humanitarian projects in Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa and knows the area we operate in very well.  Elena has particular interest in working with bilateral donors, project management, monitoring and evaluation. We are delighted to welcome Elena to our Board in 2021 and look forward to benefitting from her wealth of knowledge and experience.

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.  

Published: 7th August, 2019

Updated: 7th January, 2022

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Latest

  • The Remembering Tree Project

    The Remembering Tree Project

    Thanks for visiting the page! Why note be an "earlybird" for the 2022 10th Year Project? Pop over to our shop to purchase a square, star, bauble or even a whole tree! #yarnbombing #TheRememberingTree

  • Twin Your Cot with one at 1000 Hills Baby Room

    Twin Your Cot with one at 1000 Hills Baby Room

    There's been a baby boom in the valley of 1000 Hills and demand for places in the 1000 HCH baby room has never been higher. Providing a safe place for these babies means that their Mum's can resume their education or working life knowing that their little ones will be safe for the day. To help with the operational costs we're launching a Twin a Cot scheme linking cots at nurseries in the UK with a cot in KwaZulu Natal - can you help?

  • Stratford upon Avon URC invites GAGA UK to be their charity of 2022

    Stratford upon Avon URC invites GAGA UK to be their charity of 2022

    Absolutely delighted to announce that GAGA UK has been selected to be the Stratford upon Avon United Reformed Church's charity for 2022. Each year the church selects a local charity, alternating between national and international causes, to be the recipient of some of the fundraising activities of the congregation. We're really pleased to be chosen and look forward to lots of engagement with the URC during the year.

  • GAGA Volunteers Marshal at Shakespeare Marathon and Half Marathon

    GAGA Volunteers Marshal at Shakespeare Marathon and Half Marathon

    A merry band of GAGA volunteers set their alarms early on Sunday 24th April to form part of the "start team of marshals" for the 2022 Shakespeare Rotary Marathon in Stratford upon Avon.

Most read

  • About us

    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.

  • General Fund

    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!

  • The Remembering Tree Project

    The Remembering Tree Project

    Thanks for visiting the page! Why note be an "earlybird" for the 2022 10th Year Project? Pop over to our shop to purchase a square, star, bauble or even a whole tree! #yarnbombing #TheRememberingTree

  • Our team

    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

    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.

  • Support us

    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 work

  • KYGN Tumaini Foundation Primary

    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.

  • Volunteer

    Volunteer

    As a small charity, with one employee and a small board of trustees, we couldn't achieve all we do if it wasn't for our amazing volunteers! We'd love to hear from you, whether you have an hour a week to spare, can help out intermittently or have bigger plans and would like to volunteer in Africa, call us!

  • Yarnbombing in Stratford upon Avon

    We've had a busy week yarnbombing at the Bancroft Gardens and Holy Trinity churchyard! It's not too late to make a dedication - you have until 6th December to celebrate the life of your loved ones or to sponsor a whole tree in the woollen winter wonderland. Look in the shop for Remembering Tree items or contact [email protected]

Tag cloud

#democracy #endmalaria #freedomday #freedomday2022 #girlsinICT #girlsinsouthafrica #girlsinSTEM #innovation #InternationalGirlsinICTDay2022 #southafrica #worldmalariaday

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PO Box 6751
Stratford upon Avon
CV37 1UQ

+44 (0)1789 414088
[email protected]

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