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
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.
Lili VARUL
Lili Varul is a second-year psychology student at the UvA. She was born in Germany and grew up in England. She loves international environments and learning about different cultures, which is also something that contributed to her interest in Sister Schools. Her main motivation for studying psychology is understanding human nature and acquiring skills that allow her to help others, which is also part of her motivation for working with Sister Schools.
Irina Ridzuan
is a 2nd-year Ph.D candidate at Leiden University. As a Third Culture Kid, she spent her youth in Malaysia, Canada, Scotland, and the United States, before moving to the Netherlands. Her multicultural background motivates her to help platforms that promote cultural diversity and global education. This is one of the values she sees in the MoMo method and why she is excited to contribute as a member of the Educational team.
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.
Virginia Obiakor
I believe intercultural communication and international learning are very important to improve our society, that’s why I am very impressed by the work of Sister schools. Especially when it comes to education for students all over the world. I do love the idea of connecting schools in different African counties like Nigeria or Kenya with schools in Europe to broaden the perspective of pupils. I want to be part of the volunteering community because the work of Sister School is very closely connected to my interests like intersectional feminism combined with my social work background, that’s why I would love to support the Sisters Schools with my work experience and my passion.
Marketing
Ana BENDER
It is thrilling to be part of a project that aims to transcend cultural barriers through digital inclusion, learning by doing and developing 21st century skills. The vision of Schools Sisters is brilliant for promoting the use of technology and development of new skills to allow students from different backgrounds to understand and learn about each other’s cultures. As an expat living in The Netherlands, being part of this community of volunteers brings me a sense of belonging and satisfaction for learning about the different realities and sharing my skills to expand the project, benefiting more students
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.
Carole LEUZINGER
originally from Switzerland, feels that MoMo has created real tools that enable people to share their expertise and create opportunities and support. Her belief in the project is profound, and she believes that change happens when people are brought together.
Viola Prevoo
has a drive to contribute to society. As a sinologist, she firmly believes that cultural education is the key to social equality and inclusiveness in our society. She worked for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and currently is working as a copywriter at Osage.
Alia TAHER
was born and raised in Yemen. Holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Corvinus University of Budapest. She hopes to see a real change in the educational system of today’s world. Because seeking knowledge is an innate feeling that we all work hard to achieve. She aspires to see a system with happier, eager to learn and involved pupils rather than the current highly stressful and competitive arena.
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.
Isabella Teixiera de Oliveira e Sousa
“My name is Isabella, I am 30 years old and I am from Brazil. I have two beautiful children, Maria is 5 years old and Noah is 4 years old. I came to Amsterdam with my husband, he works with IT and we live here in The Netherlands since October 2019.
I am learning English and this project is very import to my personal development. I am a photographer and designer. I worked with wedding photography in Brazil.
I am very excited to work with Canva for this project.”
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?”
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.
Lais B JOHANNES
Lais is a human development enthusiast, values the power of connections and is passionate about making things happen. She is a Brazilian national currently living in The Netherlands and her career was developed in leading multinationals from diverse industries. She has always been involved in volunteering and charity initiatives and is very happy to be part of Sister Schools to support shaping the education of the 21st century.
Esra BINRASHEED
Born in the capital city of Yemen, Sana’a in 1995, Esra holds a bachelor degree in Business Management from Majan University College in Oman.Through her personal experience as a newcomer to the Netherlands, her eyes fell on many issues such as, cultural differences, new language, different educational system etc. concerning the means that would empower newcomers and their families to adapt to the new situation and build a new future. Being part of Sisterschool means Connecting the right people with each other and to make good education accessible for every child, and that is my new aim now. “
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 this 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 this organisation grow and be successful in reaching all its aims and goals.
Marah KAREESH
“My passion has always been discovering the world and other cultures.
As I was following my passion, I noticed how much the world needs us to make it a happier place. Believing that every child has the right to have an equal opportunity in education made me join Momo Education to do everything I can to help this school grow.”
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.
Mark JANSSEN
is the system administrator of our first Dutch Sister School, the Berlage Lyceum in Amsterdam. When he heard about the programme he was immediately enthusiastic to help MoMo with the connectivity part, creating the right digital environment for the kids to connect.
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).
Maha ELBASUON
I’m Egyptian but I’ve been living in Amsterdam for the past 5 years and moved recently to Almere. I’m a Frontend developer with good experience working in the Internet industry, I studied computer science for 4 years and an other 1 year at the Information Technology Institute (ITI) where I learned all things open source. I’m excited to be one of the MoMo team
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.
Sophia PEDRO
is a classical professional singer, who studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and originally from Portugal. During the pandemic she had little artistic work and decided to set up a small scale partnership between a school in Brussels and Amsterdam (Erasmus+), connected to Sister Schools.
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.