PERSPECTIVES - Introducing Our Tanzanian Board of Directors
Collaborating with Tanzanian communities and working together with our friends in East Africa to make decisions about health, education, water, and women’s empowerment projects in their communities has always been one of our core values. It is something that sets us apart from other charitable organizations; we strive to build deep personal, lasting, connections with the communities we serve and to give our beneficiaries a true voice and choice about the projects that affect them.
To that end, we are proud to announce the establishment of our Tanzanian Board of Directors. These folks have been vital in executing many of our past and current projects. In many ways, they have been key members of our team. Now, we are thankful to officially welcome them into FOTZC leadership and official Board-level positions.
It is a true honor to receive the benefit of the hard work, talent, and local knowledge of these individuals as we continue to plan many exciting and ambitious projects in the years ahead. The new Tanzanian Board is a testament to our dedication to foster an organization that is not just passionate about helping and working with our friends in Tanzanian but is also represented by our friends in Tanzania.
Lashku T. Lashku, FOTZC Tanzanian Board Treasurer
Lashku, pictured left, speaks with a group of Maasai community members.
Lashku is a born entrepreneur, originally from the south of Tanzania, who currently lives with his family in Arusha. He has worked in multiple east and central African countries in the financial and construction sector and is the founder and managing director of Tanzanian-based companies Praxis Financial Accounting and Tax Consultancy and Lashku LTD, dealing with construction and real estate. Now, he wants his success and knowledge to contribute to projects that help remote communities gain greater access to education and healthcare. For that purpose, he joined FOTZC as the Tanzanian Board Treasurer and functions as an important advisor in FOTZC construction projects.
Lotte Peeters, FOTZC Tanzanian Board Country Manager
Lotte admires beadwork made by the Maasai women of the FOTZC Women's Empowerment Program.
Lotte is a cultural anthropologist specializing in Gender, East Africa, Human Rights and Maasai Customary Law. She was born in the Netherlands, and visited Tanzania for the first time in 2013, to start her research on Maasai women property rights and inter-legalities. Over the years, she has conducted multiple ethnographic studies and worked with various NGOs in northern Tanzania on topics of gender, (Maasai) customary law, property and inheritance law, domestic violence, and human rights. She found love in Tanzania and settled with her family in Arusha, where she founded Praxis Anthropology, providing administrative and project management consultancy services in the development sector. She currently holds the position of FOTZC Country Manager.
Rose Sigi Ngilishi, FOTZC Tanzanian Board Secretary & Project Coordinator
Rose has been with Thomson Safaris since the early days and has played a critical role in the company’s success. She brings a unique skill set to the team, having studied both hospitality and accounting, which gave her the tools to develop a small camping department of 7 tents to the extensive system of camps we have today. Having learned the business from the ground up, and being a native of Arusha, she has a deep understanding of what makes the business, and the team successful. She leads with confidence and compassion, which has helped create an exceptionally dedicated team.
Daniel Yamat, FOTZC Tanzanian Projects Coordinator
As the charismatic project manager for the Enashiva Nature Refuge, Daniel Yamat has two lifelong passions — helping people and wildlife. Beginning his career as a veterinarian, Daniel has worked on conservation and community projects in Tanzania for nearly a decade. He graduated from the College of African Wildlife Management in 1999. Growing up the son of a traditional Maasai elder outside of Arusha, Daniel has long straddled between a traditional Maasai and modern Tanzanian life, further allowing him to develop community-based conservation efforts that draw from both of those worlds. He is married with three children.
KENNEDY MMASI
Kennedy Mmasi is a Financial Analyst at Road Scholar, where he works directly with the Vice President of the organization in Tuition and Revenue Management. Before Road Scholar, Kennedy spent two years as a Consultant at Novantas – a financial services consulting firm based in New York. He is from Arusha, Tanzania and holds a bachelor in Economics from Harvard University.
Bonnie Clendenning serves as Chairperson of both the FOTZC US board and the FOTZC TZ board. Patricia Boner-Meeus, Kennedy Mmasi and Ryan Schwartz also serve as directors on both boards.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Click the link below to support FOTZC’s projects and be a force for good in Tanzania. One hundred percent of your tax-deductible donation goes directly to FOTZC projects. You can choose to send your gift where it’s needed most, or designate your contribution to one of FOTZC’s areas of focus: Education, Health/Water, and Women’s Empowerment.
Together, we look forward to tackling bigger projects, helping and working with more communities, and benefitting a special place and people who have so profoundly impacted us.
