Our Team
UK Board of Mustard Seed Project
Rita Fowler
Rita is one of the founding trustees. She is the director/chair of Mustard Seed Project. Rita is a qualified nurse and midwife who later re-trained as a primary school teacher. Her Teaching skills have been of particular value providing in-service training to the hard-working committed staff. She has guided the headteacher from her role running a school with just 35 children to running a school with 275. She has also closely monitored the school. Rita spends two periods of one month each year working in Kenya with Geoff. Rita is also a member of the Kenyan board.
Geoff Fowler
Geoff is one of the founding trustees. He started his career as a Civil Engineer working on small and large projects including being director of a large construction company before becoming a business consultant working with charities and not-for-profit organisations. His management and construction skills have been a huge asset working with the youth and women and of course in overseeing construction of the school. Geoff spends two periods of one month working in Kenya each year with Rita.
Lynne Smith
Lynne joined the board in 2009 as our secretary. Lynne is a retired primary school teacher who visited the school in Kenya in 2011. The school was quite small then but the staff she met are still at the school and she has a good understanding of the issues and offers excellent advice.
Mark Tilley
Mark joined the board in 2009 and is our treasurer. Mark is married to a Togoan, has visited Togo on a number of occasions and has a good understanding of the problems that are faced. As well as financial skills Mark works in IT and has been an invaluable support with the website.
Archana Gregory
Archana joined the board in 2011. Archana is a Kenyan who came to the UK in 2000 for education and stayed. Archana has family in Kenya whom she visits. In 2009 Archana spent six months in Kenya volunteering with our project. Whilst in Kenya we asked her to join the UK board and she agreed. Her understanding of Kenya and its culture have proved invaluable.
Julie Berry
Julie is a long-term supporter of Mustard Seed Project and has followed our progress with interest before joining the board in 2015. Julie is a qualified teacher who has good IT skills. She plans to visit Kenya soon.
Nicola Hinton
Nicki joined the board in 2016 having been a long-term supporter. Nicki is a clinical psychologist. She has visited the school twice and is able to give excellent advice.
Charlotte Wade
Charlie is a secondary school teacher with lots of experience. She spent 5 weeks volunteering in Mombasa in February 2018. She was a huge asset, giving lots of support and advice which was very much appreciated by the teachers. Since returning to the UK she agreed to join the board in July 2018
Anne Lees
Anne Lees is a long-term supporter of Mustard Seed Project and has followed our progress with interest from the beginning. Anne is a volunteer who does endless jobs for the charity. She prepares the financial report before Mark reviews it, writes articles for the press and does the filing. Anne is methodical and her support enables MSP to progress and be efficient.
Kenyan Board of Mustard Seed Project
Winnie
Winnie is the chairperson of the Kenyan board. Winnie is a nurse who was matron of a large hospital in Kenya. She obviously has a good understaning of the problems faced in our community. She has worked with both Geoff and Rita organising health training and business training for the women. Winnie worked with Flora in our clinic when it was first set up but has stepped back now to her role as chairperson.
Flora
Flora is also a qualified nurse and midwife who lives close to the community and is on call if there are any problems. She has worked closely with Winnie on all the projects and worked alongside her in the clinic. Flora has worked particularly with the older girls advising on contraception, sexual health and menstruation.
Joshua
Joshua joined the board in 2010. Joshua is a pastor with many churches. He is also the headteacher of a large primary school in Shanzu which is close by. This is another school owned by a UK charity. Joshua is the manager of our school and the person that Irene contacts in the first instance if she has problems. The school could not have grown as it has without Joshua's guidance to help us through the maze of Kenyan bureaucracy.
Harry
Harry is the senior elder in Mgongeni. He Joined the board in 2010 and offers excellent advice. Harry lives in the community and can explain to us how things work as this remains a surprise at times.
Staff of Miche Bora Nursery and Primary School
Irene Changawa
Head teacher. Irene has been with us since 2009. She has an ECD* diploma
Edward
Deputy headteacher. Edward has been with us since 2018. He was headteacher of another school before joining us. He holds P1** certificate
Sonery
Responsible for resources, upkeep of the school and liaising with contractors etc. Sonery has been with us since 2009 when we paid for her in-service teacher training. She has an ECD certificate
Mercy
Head of lower school. Mercy has been with us since 2010. She has an ECD certificate
Mary
Mary came to us in 2019. Mary was a newly qualified teacher. She holds a P1 certificate.
Caroline
Caroline joined us at the beginning of 2020. She holds a P1 certificate
Leah
Responsible for English and Kiswahilli Leah joined us in 2015 as a newly qualified teacher. She has made enormous progress and has trained and become a marker for the goverment She holds P1 certificate
Amos
Responsible for Maths, Amos joined us in 2017 as a newly qualified teacher. He has exceptional maths ability having come top of his year at college. He holds P1 certificate
Noelina
Noelina is responsible for Special Needs. She joined us in 2011 and works with our youngest children aged between three and five years. She is Montessori trained
Sophia
Sophia joined us in 2011 as a teaching assistant. We soon recognised her potential and paid for her to do in-service teacher training. She is now one of our excellent teachers.She has an ECD certificate
Joyce
Joyce joined us in 2011. She came as a mother helper with her profoundly deaf child. She then became a teaching assisant until we decided to pay for her to do in-service training. She is now one of our excellent teachers.She has an ECD certificate
Aisha
Aisha joined us in 2017. She is responsible for Islamic Religious Education. She also teaches our youngest children.She has an ECD certificate
Hawa
Hawa joined us in 2016 as a teaching assistant. She is excellent and she should soon be starting her in-service teacher training
Felista
Felista joined us in 2018 as a teaching assistant. She is showing herself to be very competent and we are considering paying for her in-service training.
Collins
Collins is our school Bursar who joined us in 2016. He is wonderful! He does all the school accounts, has excellent English and sends very good reports and accounts. He is currently doing a part-time course to earn a diploma in business studies which is being paid for by MSP
Munira
Munira has been with us since 2009. She is the school caretaker and she takes great pride in her work.
Zita
Zita is one of our cooks. She has been with us since 2014
Christine
Christine is one of our cooks. She has been with us since 2015
Dianne
Dianne is one of our cooks. She has been with us since 2016
Esther
Esther has just joined us as a cook in 2019. We were obliged to add a new cook when we discovered that cooks are not allowed to clean in Kenya so we had to add to our team.
Bridget
Bridget works in the clinic monitoring the children's health and also in the local community giving advice to mothers.
Rosalyn
Rosalyn, like Esther, has just joined us as a cleaner 2019, when we discovered that cooks are not allowed to clean in Kenya.
*Early Childhood Development. This qualification enables teachers to teach three to eight year old children. The Certificate is a two year training and the Diploma is a three year training. This is sometimes undertaken full-time and sometimes undertaken as an in-service qualification.
** Primary 1. This qualification enables teachers to teach six to 14 year olds. This is a two year full-time qualification.