Chief Executive Officer Expand Nicola Chevis - Chief Executive Officer Nicola joined Vision Aid Overseas in March 2017. Since 1994 Nicola has worked for different International Non-Governmental Organisations starting with Oxfam GB coordinating their work in East Asia and then in Mozambique, with GOAL Ireland as a Country Director in Sierra Leone and with Voluntary Services Overseas first as a Country Director in Vanuatu and then as their global head of programming planning and monitoring and evaluation based in London. Latterly she worked for Save the Children International firstly for their Global Campaign to reduce maternal and child mortality and for the last 3.5 years as their Deputy Director and then Interim Director for their Child Protection work globally. Nicola brings her strengths in driving high quality programmes, institutional funding, working with volunteers for development impact and leading high performing teams to the CEO role. To contact Nicola please email: nicola.chevis@visionaidoverseas.org
Fundraising Team Expand Andy Holliday - Director of Fundraising & Communications Andy joined Vision Aid Overseas in August 2015 having spent the previous seven years with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, latterly, as Head of Marketing Membership & Fundraising. Previously, Andy had worked in the commercial sector for several years. Before then he spent over eight years as Head of Regional Fundraising with Development Charity ActionAid and also working as a Fundraising Consultant with a number of national and international charities. Assignments overseas included time in Sudan, India and Nepal. To contact Andy please email andy.holliday@visionaidoverseas.org Team members Sarah Namusobya Senior Fundraising Officer- Communications, Campaigns and PR sarah.namusobya@visionaidoverseas.org Demi Rennie Fundraising Officer- Members & Individual Supporters demi.rennie@visionaidoverseas.org Howard Payne Warehouse Manager howard.payne@visionaidoverseas.org For general fundraising enquiries please email fundraising@visionaidoverseas.org
Programmes Team Expand Anne Buglass - Director of Programmes Anne Joined Vision Aid Overseas as Programme Manager in September 2015. She liaises with our staff and partners overseas to manage and develop our international programme work, as well as supporting the development and deployment of Professional Volunteers. Prior to joining Vision Aid Overseas, Anne was Deputy Director of Operations at an international volunteering organisation. To contact Anne please email anne.buglass@visionaidoverseas.org Team members Judith Trigg Professional Volunteer Co-ordinator judith.trigg@visionaidoverseas.org Giulio Venturi Vision Centre Supply Manager giulio.venturi@visionaidoverseas.org Karen Sparrow Education and Training Director karen.sparrow@visionaidoverseas.org For general volunteering enquiries please email volunteering@visionaidoverseas.org
Finance Team Expand Michel Agbodjinou - Finance Director Michel joined Vision Aid Overseas in May 2014. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant with an extensive experience in the non for profit sector, helping organisations to improve their internal effectiveness so that they can successfully achieve their missions. Most recently, he served 6 years at Shelter the Homelessness charity and prior to that, previous appointments included the Salvation Army, Southwark Council and the Fostering Network. To contact Michel, please email michel.agbodjinou@visionaidoverseas.org Team members Trudy Moody Finance and Admin Officer trudy.moody@visionaidoverseas.org Carrie- Anne Caiger Finance Officer carrie-anne.caiger@visionaidoverseas.org For general finance enquiries please email accounts@visionaidoverseas.org
Zambia Team Expand Karen Edwards - Country Director Karen joined Vision Aid Overseas in 2008 as Project Manager, but since 2010 she has been based in Lusaka as the director of our programme of activities there. A qualified occupational therapist, Karen has a Master’s degree in Community Disability Studies for Developing Countries from University College London and has lived and worked in several countries as a disability researcher and programme manager for several NGOs. She has worked long term in Namibia, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Russia. Her work with Vision Aid Overseas combines her interests in disability prevention, sustainable development and community eye health services and of her passionate love of Africa. Team members David Mwitumwa Programme Officer david.mwitumwa@visionaidoverseas.org Munalula Imbula Programme Officer munalula.imbula@visionaidoverseas.org
Sierra Leone Team Expand Alfred Yambasu - Country Director Alfred Yambasu is an experienced public health specialist and program manager. Previously he was a health program manager for GOAL Sierra Leone for 3 years, gaining experience of the Sierra Leonean Health systems working in both preventive and curative health institutions. Alfred has experience working with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and National and International non-governmental organisations such as Vision Aid Overseas, GOAL Sierra Leone, St Luke society, the Shepherds Hospice and Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF-Belgium). He has managed funding from various funding agencies including UNICEF, EU and USAID successfully. Alfred became Sierra Leone Country Director for Vision Aid Overseas in 2014. Team member Allie Saccoh Programme Officer Allieu.Saccoh@visionaidoverseas.org
Country Representative- Ethiopia Expand Balachew Paulos - Country Representative Belachew Paulos joined Vision Aid Overseas in April 2016. He was born in a small town in Ethiopia called Yirgacheffe, 395 km away from the capital city, Addis Ababa. In 2012, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Optometry from Hawassa University. Since graduating, he has been working as an Optometrist at Zewditu memorial hospital in Addis Ababa. In his spare time, Belachew is the President of the Ethiopian Optometry Association.
Country Director- Ghana Expand Vera Wilton - Country Director Vera is an experienced optometrist who became involved with VAO in 2000 firstly as a fund raising member and she then completed her first assignment teaching refraction to trainee ophthalmologists in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2004. 14 more projects to Ethiopia followed including teaching and outreach assignments as well as fact finding missions. She is now Country Director for Ghana as well as a Trustee and has just completed her fourth visit to Ghana working with optometry students in the University of Cape Coast. She is on the Local Optical Committee with responsibility for arranging the annual local CET course and co-ordinating the Better Care Together programme with the ophthalmology department of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust. She is also involved with the local dyslexia and autism groups. In her spare time she tries to play golf, cycles, sails and walks in the lovely Lake District where she lives. .
Regional Representative- Southern Africa Expand Jens Hinricher – Regional Representative (Southern Africa) Jens has been involved with Vision Aid Overseas since October 2013, having served on the Board of Trustees for two years before becoming Vision Aid Overseas' Regional Representative (Southern Africa) based in Pretoria, South Africa. He has lived and worked overseas for a number of years and held a variety of senior appointments including General Counsel of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Lusaka, Zambia and, lately, as the Head of Legal at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Jens is now in charge of developing Vision Aid Overseas network in Southern Africa and supporting the Executive and Country Directors. He also provides strategic programme advice to assist the Board of Trustees in aligning the Vision Aid Overseas strategy with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness’ (IAPB) Africa Agenda and Vision 2020. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and was recently elected as a Member of the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa (IoDSA). To contact Jens please email jens.hinricher@visionaidoverseas.org