Board Members and Advisors
Bonaventure Masika, Kenya Program Manager
Bonaventure is a Hands of Charity project manager. His background as a community leader and teacher contributes to his value at Small Solutions Big Ideas. Bonaventure works seven days a week. He and his team serve five primary schools in the Bungoma area, teaching computer skills to over a thousand students every week. He teaches Scratch programming, among other important skills, to help bridge the digital divide between Kenya and the Western World. |
Annie Maurer, Clerk/Secretary
Annie is a teacher of many years working with high risk youth. She has been a key leader in Social Justice and Administration at the First Religious Society Unitarian Church as a board member and the president of the board. Annie has a career of roles in both educational and religious non-profit organizations, as teacher, educational curriculum design at Saint Anne's Home for children with disabilities and behavioral challenges. She has served in various roles including chair of the board at the First Religious Society UU in Newburyport. We are grateful for her calm steady presence. |
Andrew Sidford, Leader of Kenya Center Build Vision
Andrew is President of Sidford Architects, based in Newburyport, with many examples of his work here. For 25 years, Andrew's have collaborated with our clients to design creative, thoughtful architecture that matters. We believe that how you experience, live or work in the spaces we help create is more important than the size of the building. sustainable design has been at the core of our philosophy long before “green energy” became a buzzword. |
JULIA PICHA is a dedicated advocate for positive change, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Community Development and currently pursuing a BS in Nursing. With a Strong passion for public service, environmental & wildlife conservation, community development, and healthcare, she actively volunteers with various organizations to make a meaningful impact in these areas. Known for her compassion and dedication, Julia strongly believes in the potential of young people to enact meaningful change in the world. Inspired by the words of William Clinton, she is committed to proving that the youth of today possess the power and creativity to address society’s most pressing issues. Through her actions and initiatives, she strives to contribute innovative solutions and make a difference in the lives of others. |
Christian Kakoba, Kenyan Technical Advisor and Consultant
Founder and principal at Space Kenya Networks, Mobile App developer for CrowdPesa, Educational technology developer, Block Chain Consultant and Trainer. Christian helped build a rapidly growing platform that allows organizations to directly message the average African mobile user and offer important information on health, education and other services. He is currently building an educational team to enhance education in rural communties, using low cost technology tools such as XO-laptops. Christian ensures that all resources are properly managed, teams are aligned, and communication is transparent. He is also involved in the development of solar technology in rural communities. |
George Newman, President of One Planet Education Network
SSBI Partner in bringing environmental games to our clients and schools in Africa OPEN is the recipient of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funds to develop 3D educational learning environments as a supplement to upper Elementary and Middle School science, mathematics, social studies, and literacy curricula. These realistic 3D environments are based on representations of real-world National Parks and World Heritage Sites. These include Virtual Mesa Verde, Virtual Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Saving the Black Rhinos of Mkomazi National Park. Our latest worlds that were also supported by IES include Virtual Machu Picchu (Spanish and English), and Olympic National Park. |