Our Team

Andrea is co-founder and Trustee of Wakadogo. Andrea is in charge of overseeing the governance, policies and academic performance as well as our new computer literacy initiative at the school. Andrea holds a Masters in Political Science from the University of Guelph where her thesis fieldwork focused on the role that education plays in post-conflict reconstruction in northern Uganda. She also holds a BA in Political Science and Sociology from McGill University and was awarded McGill's James Wright Award. Prior to moving to Spain to pursue a career in portrait photography, Andrea worked in London for LVMH as a project manager for Hennessy's CSR programme.

Nilmin is co-founder and Trustee of Wakadogo and currently lives in Gulu, Uganda. She manages the financial and day-to-day operations and construction projects of the organisation. Nilmin is Ugandan and has lived in Uganda for most of her life and this has enabled her to build strong relationships with the Acholi community of Gulu. Between 2001 and 2004, she worked for an advocacy group in England as the Treasurer in a voluntary capacity. From 2001 to 2004, Nilmin completed foundation level courses of CIMA in Financial Accounting; Management Accounting; Business Law and Business Math. She attended a marketing and management course at the School of Business at Imperial College in London, England.

Zayna has been a Trustee at Wakadogo Canada since 2005. Zayna is currently working at YouTube as a Communications and Public Affairs Manager. Zayna's passion for communicating challenging ideas stemmed from her work in entertainment, where she got her start by producing and directing documentaries. One of which, The Modern Warrior, focused on the development of the Masai culture in Kenya.

Farah is co-founder and Trustee of Wakadogo. Farah has nine years of experience working across the philanthropy and fundraising sectors. She is currently Head of Gulf Partnerships at Plan, one of the world's oldest and largest international development agencies, working in partnership with millions of people around the world to end global poverty. Previously, she was The Social Investment Consultancy's CEO for the Middle East. Here she has led Gulf-based strategic projects for UNICEF, the UN World Food Programme and Plan International. Farah has lived and worked in the United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Rwanda, Canada and the UK. Farah studied History and French at the University of Warwick in England.

Nafees completed “Leading from The Chair” (INSEAD’s most senior Governance and Leadership programme for Chairs of Boards) and “Advanced Strategy” in 2018/19, as accreditation towards the Certificate in Advanced Governance, having already achieved his certification in Governance. He has delivered lectures on governance to the Executive MBA at INSEAD by invite and Leadership Development at London Business School. Additionally Nafees is the senior partner of two investment companies and is either on or has been an advisor to the boards of several companies and NGO’s. Prior to this, Nafees was the Co-Head of the Wholesale Bank and the Head of Global Markets for the Middle-East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey for Standard Chartered Bank. He was a member of the Supervisory Board & ExecCo, and a member of the Global Executive Leadership Team. He was further responsible for Governance in Africa and shared Governance for the country CEOs and boards. He also sat on the Global Financial Markets Management Board. Throughout Nafees strongly endorsed Diversity and Inclusion for the bank, having won the award for the region and later was a member of the steering committee. Nafees was the accountable executive in the region for 'Seeing is Believing' (the bank's largest CSR endeavour, whose mission is to rid the world of blindness). Nafees has completed his postgraduate studies at London Business School in Finance and Oxford University in Leadership and Strategy.

Azim Keshwani is an entrepreneur and philanthropist based in London UK, whose family have a long history of leveraging business to support causes such as Mother Theresa's mission for over 50 years. Azim grew up in the UK, Portugal, Canada and Uganda and this has given him a unique cultural perspective. After completing grammar school at Queen Elizabeth's in London, and High School at St Georges in Vancouver he went on to complete a B.Comm at McGill in Montreal. Upon graduation he worked in Strategy & IS consulting for CGI, Infor and partnered with Accenture and Hewitt which took him to New York, Miami, Dallas and Latin America and gave him understanding and insight into corporate life. The desire to be an entrepreneur was never far away though, and while consulting, Azim invested in property and 3 successful franchise outlets of Lettieri coffee shops and Hero burger franchises in Toronto. Azim made the move to London a decade ago to spearhead the family property and retail businesses allowing his father to retire, and soon met Farah Williamson (a co-founder of Wakadogo) and was determined to get involved. He felt this grassroots organisation working in the birth country of his parents and grandparents was the right way to focus energy and resources in a transparent and meaningful fashion. To further his understanding and ability to contribute, Azim is also in the final year of his Masters Certificate in Social Development at SOAS University of London with a focus on poverty reduction. Azim has also completed his PMP project management certification.

Shirley Virga is the co-founder and Partner of Global Recruiters Network (GRN) in Calgary, Canada. GRN is today the fastest growing recruiting company in the world. She directs the efforts of the global team in the Pharmaceutical, Biotech and Cosmetics search practice. Shirley has over 17 years of international experience in Sales and Marketing related fields in various industries such as high-end Packaging, cosmetics and pharmaceutical. Prior to starting GRN Calgary in 2005 she served as an international marketing professional working with increased responsibilities in the UK, France and the US. Shirley is trilingual, has a Bachelor in Business Administration and is very multi-culturally aware having lived and worked now in 5 different countries. Shirley is married to Nino and together they have 5 children. She has a keen interest in children education across the world. Shirley and Nino have been impressed and quickly inspired by Wakadogo and decided to help "spread the word".

Nino Virga is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Global Recruiters Network (GRN) in Calgary, Canada. GRN is today the fastest growing recruiting company in the world. Currently Nino leads the executive practice and directs the efforts of the global Packaging division. His global recruiting team is one of the best in North America, ranking in the top 3%. Nino carries extensive international management experience in the IT, Telecom and Packaging industries. Before co-founding GRN Calgary, he was the Executive Vice President for a global packaging firm. He directed sales marketing, customer and operations across three continents Nino holds a Bachelor degree in Computer Science from Pisa University in Italy and an MBA in International Business from the European University in Brussels. He is trilingual and multi-culturally aware, having lived and worked in 6 different countries. Nino is married to Shirley and together they have 5 children. Since visiting one of their sponsored children in Uganda in 2003 Nino has been impressed by how much difference little resources in the developed world can make when applied to the developing world. Shirley and Nino have been impressed and quickly inspired by Wakadogo and decided to help "spread the word".

Ashley has been involved with Wakadogo since 2005 and joined us as a Trustee in 2019. Ashley is a partner at a London-based political risk and investigations firm where she leads the team’s dispute practice. Due to her work advising investors on the risks and challenges as they enter emerging markets, she has learned first-hand how important education and community engagement is for creating a successful investment environment and supporting long term growth. Ashley is a graduate of McGill University in Canada where she first was introduced to Wakadogo and its Founders. She has a Master’s degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and studied Arabic in Damascus.

Charles graduated from Ndejje University Kampala with a Bachelor Degree of Guidance and Counseling and a Diploma in Primary Education and He also has a certificate in HIV/AIDS counseling from The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO), Uganda. He has twenty one years' experience in education management and implementation in Uganda. He has been teaching and practicing counseling in the schools since 2001 as a way of providing psychosocial support to war affected children and career guidance to the learners. Charles has been leading Wakadogo School since June 2013. His role is to manage the teaching staff and ensure quality learning and growing our partnership with education stakeholders. Charles is a member of Rotary Club of Gulu and very committed in changing lives in the community.

Goretty has a Degree in Business Administration in Accounting from Makerere University Majoring, and is now pursuing Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (CPA) Level Two. She has received training in financial reporting and financial management, budgeting, budget holding, budget analysis, strategic planning and management. Goretty has a strong background in administration, finance and management with four years’ experience working in accounting, finance and administration in different organizations like the Karin Community Initiative Uganda (NGO) and the Eastern Division Soroti Municipality. She also spent one year sensitizing the community in regards to health and disaster preparedness with the Uganda Red Cross Society (NGO) in Katakwi District. She has been working for Wakadogo School since March 2021 as our Project Accountant and works with an attitude of passion and excellence towards all aspects of her work. Goretty is responsible for the preparation of monthly and yearly budgets, donor accountabilities and financial statements. She also prepares and oversees payroll, and helps develop the organization’s policies and practices.

Richard is the Chairman Parents’ Teachers Association (PTA) at Wakadogo School. He is a businessman who is involved in agribusiness for his daily living. The PTA Goals are being achieved by keeping the entire school community informed of current events, issues, and accomplishments. He organizes regular meetings to allow PTAs to share information with members. He involves parents so they understand the challenges the schools is facing and become part of the solution. By developing a closer relationship with parents, student achievement improves, and the school develops a positive reputation in the community.

Peter Baltussen joined Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) in 2006, after holding several managerial positions at ABN Amro Bank for eighteen years and serving as CEO of Saudi Hollandi Bank in Saudi Arabia. Peter has been a banking CEO for the last 15 years and has always managed to include CSR and community initiatives on the management agenda and make it an integral part of the bank's strategy. For example, Peter initiated of the Commercial Bank of Dubai's Youth Athletics programme with the objective to get school children aware of the importance of a balanced and healthy life. He is actively involved in finding strategic solutions for charities in the UAE such as Beit al Khair. Peter is also a board member of a vocational training centre in Rotterdam to prepare young immigrants for jobs.

Growing up, Catherine lived in many countries following her parents who instilled in her a passion for learning and helping people around her. At the age of 12 she volunteered at an orphanage in Haiti and saw first-hand the difference a small investment in children can make. She continued supporting youth both at home in Canada and abroad. She completed a BA in political science and international development at McGill University and holds an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics. After working abroad with the United Nations she now works for the Government of Canada in Ottawa. Catherine firmly believes that every child has the right to a quality education.