Our Volunteers
“In fact, everyone lives in a bubble, one is a bit bigger than the other. With Momo Education we offer young people new perspectives through digital exchange with peers. Important themes such as sustainability and inclusivity are discussed from several angles. In this way we contribute to more understanding for each other and more confidence in the future”.
Chairman of the board of the Sister Schools Foundation
Etienne Spierts
Marketing

Zipporah MUNGAI
is an Engineering student at The Technical University of Kenya.
She believes that being part of the organization will allow her to impact society positively. The organization caters to all genders which is of benefit to both girls and boys. The world is becoming a global village and she believes with digital education both African and European children will be at par which is what the organization is aiming at.

Emma HARTY
Emma Harty is from the UK and has lived in the UK, Kenya, Uganda and now the Netherlands where she is studying for her bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology. Emma is interested in inclusive and sustainable development and recognises the benefits of a diverse and international education so is excited to be part of the Momo Education team.

Mercy Chepkemoi
A teacher of English and literature at Highway secondary school in Nairobi Kenya. I would like to volunteer with Sister Schools because I want to make a difference by being present and involved. It will satisfy that innate need to do for others. As Martin Luther King Jr once said “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?”

Michelle Mwikali
is a passionate lady and a person who loves caring for others.
The reason she wants to volunteer is to improve the lives of youngsters and the needy in my community as well as to learn new ideas and gain experience.

Hassan Ahmed
is born and raised in Kibera, Nairobi. One of the biggest slum areas in the world. He has followed many media studies, also at RNTC Netherlands. Coming from a Nubish tribe background, he knows what discrimination means and how trauma can work on in several generations. Education is the only way out and an image tells more than a 100 words!

Janne Riihinen
is a proud father and senior data manager, working for RABO bank at the moment. With a Finish background, and International working experience he is the right man at the right time and place to help MoMo grow.

Francesca Marzano
is an activist and part of a feminist collective. She studied political science in South Italy and has been living in The Netherlands for 9 years. I.
I have cultivated my passion for helping others since I was a teenager. “The way we treat our children is a measure of the quality of the nation”, as says the quote from H. Humphrey.
I have many years of experience working in offices, as a customer assistant.
I hope I ll give a positive impact for the new generations, making the world more human for everybody.
Finance & Management

Etienne SPIERTS
During the last years of my career as a tax consultant, the need to make a different contribution to society grew. Personally, I think it’s important to stay curious, to be inspired by other people, to discover unknown environments. Conversely, I would like to share my knowledge and experience with others. I do this, among other things, as chairman of the board of the Sister Schools Foundation.

Jordy JOHANNES
is a finance and accountant specialist and an investment manager. Being part of this foundation is a new step in his career, creating opportunities for children in developing countries and working for a non profit organisation.

Julia STRIJLAND
Together with Sarah Wanjira, I am the founder of MoMo. Never in my life I have felt so much in place as in this role, being at the center of the organisation. I started as a documentary filmmaker and have always been involved in community projects, trying to make a positive impact. I am passionate to make MoMo Education grow and be successful in reaching all its aims and goals.
IT & Platform Development

Victor OHANGA
is a youth in Kenya having taken a degree course in Mathematics, Statistics and Information Technology and growing up from a humble background, with difficulty getting his education; dedicated to a noble purpose.

Collins RUTO
is a software engineer, born in Kenya with working experience in the Netherlands. Together with a team of Kenyan developers he helps out with our Digital Educational Exchange Platform (DEEP).

Collins Lidede
grew up in Kenya and knows better than anybody else how differences in cultural background influence the accessibility of good digital education. He has lived in the US and is now based in Haarlem.
Project managers

Zacchaeus AWINO
assists in writing project proposals and project plans. Schools in Kenya often miss the infrastructure and knowledge to improve the living- and learning environment of the schools. Zaccheus createsopportunties to develop by sharing his knowledge with schools directors and coordinators.

Fatumah NAKAYIZA
Fatumah, a Ugandan national currently living in The Netherlands, is a Supply Chain professional that’s lived & worked in 6 countries across Europe, Middle East and Africa.
In a previous life, she was part of AIESEC, a global youth-run organization that provides young people with leadership training and exchange programs. The cross-cultural experiences she had then, inspired a lot of her decisions.
Through this organization, she aims to enable such experiences that made a difference in her life earlier on, to the future generation.

Yahya NATOOR
has a Palestinian background, is a great storyteller and inspirational trainer. What a survivor, life optimist and creative brain who likes to see this world change for good.
Partner Kenya: Sisterschools Digital Educational Exchange Trust

Grace KAVINGUHA
In the west of Kenya (Vihiga District) Grace has been teaching all her life. She is a member of the local Rotary club and is the chair of the Kenyan Trust of Sister Schools. In the photo you also see Mary Mungai, the founder of our first Sister Schools St. Elizabeth in Nairobi.

Elijah OLUOCH
is an Information Technology Expert and is dedicated to uphold Technology in schools as a way of eradicating IT illiteracy caused by lack of innovation in the education sector in The African countries and wide; Innovation for Life.

Joshua OMONDI
is serving on the Board of Sister Schools Digital Educational Exchange Programme (DEEP) in Kenya as a Trustee and treasurer. I am an Information and Communication Technology specialist, with strengths in Management Information systems (MIS), information packaging, and formatting.

Sarah WANJIRA
is the founder of the Kenya Sister Schools Trust. She believes in positive change and in creating partnerships with local schools and communities to create sustainable impact.
Educational Specialists

Cilia BORN
“I am 69 years old, a pensionado, wife, mother, grandmother and still from time to time working as a trainer and adviser in the educational field. The Sister School program helps children from here and there to learn with and from each other. I like to contribute to Sister Schools and share my experiences as an educationalist. I truly believe that with these exchange programs we contribute to a peaceful and sustainable world.”

Marianne VERHALLEN
is trained as a linguist at the University of Amsterdam, specialized in NT2 (Dutch as a Second Language). She worked at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and at the Pabo in Haarlem, where she was head of the Expertise Center NT2. In 1994 she obtained her doctorate at the UvA for research into deep word knowledge of children with a non-Dutch background. Together with her husband they founded Kambo, an organization assisting Zambian schools in English communication skills.

Esther MUNGAI
is an English teacher by profession at primary level. Molding learners to be admirable, upright and dependent civilians fills me with enthusiasm to rise each day. A genuine smile from my learners gladdens my heart. Just the thought of MoMo always gives my heart a wild throb as a volunteer. Impacting learners from all over the globe really motivates me to make a change through the young generation.

Phanuel ONDELE
is the manager of Excellent Student Limited and passionate about the programme of Sister Schools. Together with Sarah he has been giving teacher trainings and helped develop a trainer’s guide on sustainable development educational projects.

Margot Hartevelt
is a History teacher at the Calandlyceum in Amsterdam. She has fought for equal rights and humanitarian justice all her life and as a member of the Dutch board she gives her energy to make the educational exchange projects work well.

Julia Strijland
is the founder and director of Sister Schools, documentary filmmaker and she just is finalising a master degree in ‘Management, Culture and Change’, with a specialisation in the field of education. Use the digital means so that all kids can profit from these changes!