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Meet the Team

Within the UK, we employ one part-time member of staff to manage the day to day running of the charity. An active Trustee board and team of dedicated volunteers, cover the remaining work, combining their different skills and experience to focus on effective governance and control of funds distributed in Kenya and ensuring the quality of the educational provision and pastoral support provided to the children we support.

Within Kenya, Karibuni’s day to day interests are represented by Joshua Katungu, an experienced educationalist, who reports directly to the Chair in the UK. In turn Joshua works closely with 8 dedicated and professionally qualified social workers at each of the major projects.

You can read more about each member of our team by clicking on their photo. 

Kenyan Team

Joshua has been the Karibuni Children representative in Kenya since 1997, having previously worked with Street Children in Nairobi as a volunteer teacher and mentor.

Joshua holds a BEd(Hons) from the University of Nairobi and is an experienced educational management and training practitioner, including English as a second language.  Joshua is the founder & administrator of Emerald International & Kilimani International schools in Nairobi. 

He has been married to Kristine for 22 years and is the father of 4 children.

Joshua Katungu

Kenyan Representative

Mercy joined the Karibuni Children family in 2017 as a Senior Social Worker at the MCK Meru Township Project based in Meru.

Mercy is a graduate of Meru University with a BA in Commerce. 

Prior to this role, Mercy worked with Compassion International as a children trainer and social worker, and at USAID/Bio-Intensive as the project coordinator.  

Mercy is blessed with one girl.

Mercy Kendi

Social Worker

Catherine is the Project Director at our Dagoretti project, bringing over 15 years of experience in community development and youth empowerment. Before joining Karibuni Children, she worked with two affiliated Kenyan charities—Karen Street Children’s Trust and Friends of Dagoretti Children—where she held roles as both a project administrator and a social worker. In these positions, she supported young people from low-income backgrounds in accessing secondary and tertiary education opportunities.

She holds a higher diploma in Psychology and Counselling from the Kenya Institute of Professional Counselling and a Diploma in Business Management and Office Administration from the Kenya Institute of Management. She is also trained in teenage parenting and community and family conflict resolution.

Catherine is passionate about working with young people and their communities. She is deeply committed to helping them live dignified lives and take control of their destinies.

Catherine is married and is a mother of 3.

Catherine Muguro

Project Director

Makena is a Senior Social Worker for the Tusaidie Watoto projects in Kibra and Kawangware and has been a part of the Karibuni Children community since 2010. 

Kibra is the biggest slum in Kenya, and also the largest of the Karibuni-supported projects, with over 250 sponsored children.

Makena is a Community Development Graduate from Daystar University. The most rewarding part of her work is “watching the kids grow up and take advantage of education to transform their lives”.

She is a mother of two sons.

Makena Anampiu

Social Worker

Esther joined us in 2020 as a Social Worker at our Njoro project. Before joining Karibuni children, she worked with an organisation called L’Arche Kenya International as a Social Worker House Assistant, where she lived and shared life with people with intellectual disability. 

Esther has a Diploma in Social Work and Community Development from Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology. She is also trained in Occupational First Aid and Waste Hazard Management with the Kenya Red Cross, Nakuru County. 

Esther says, “Happiness is seeing the children and families smiling because of the change we have brought to them, despite all the challenges they always face. I am really looking forward to touching the lives of different people.”

Esther Onno

Social Worker

Having been supported by Karibuni through his own education for 18 years (1998-2016), Wycliffe has first-hand experience of the challenges faced by many of the families we work with. This gives him a unique perspective and passion that he brings to his role as Deputy Social Worker at the Tusaidie Watoto project in Kibra. 

Wycliffe is a graduate of the Technical University of Kenya with a Diploma in Community and Public Health. After finishing his tertiary education, he worked as an Anaesthesia Research Assistant/Training Assistant for Africa Mission Healthcare before joining Karibuni in 2021. 

Wycliffe believes that “when you lift a child, you lift the whole community”.

Wycliffe Odhiambo

Social Worker

Johnson joined us in mid-2014 as a Social Worker at our Embakasi project. Previously, he worked as an Accounts Clerk at a Methodist Church academy. He holds a certificate in Theology from Kenya Methodist University and, in 2023, will begin a course in Social Work and Community Development. 

Johnson says, “I love giving hope to children and helping them achieve their goals and dreams. This gives me unmatched satisfaction, having come from the poor of the poorest myself.” 

He is married to Mercy, and they have a son together.

Johnson Kibali

Social Worker

George’s relationship with Karibuni began in September 2011 when he joined the Rural Children and Women Empowerment Programme (RuCWEP) as Programme Coordinator and Senior Social Worker. 
George holds a Master of Arts Degree in Development Studies, a Diploma in Community Development and Project Management and a Diploma in Bible and Theology.

Before joining Karibuni Children, George worked for Rural Initiatives Development Programme (RIDEP Kenya) as a Community Development Facilitator. As part of this role, George was involved in literacy initiatives, including developing materials for lower primary schools and translating the Bible into the local Tharaka language.  

He is married to Penninah (an Agriculturalist) and a father of 3.

George Mwabu

Programme Coordinator and Social Worker

Miriam has been working for our partner project in Limuru since 2017. Prior to that, she worked for several schools, including one that serves street children in Limuru, bringing valuable experience in education and children’s work to her role.

Miriam has faced challenges similar to those faced by some of the families Karibuni supports. Her father passed away when she was still a young child, and later in life, when her children were just 6 years and 15 months, her husband died. Both situations left the family in financial difficulty. These experiences enable her to relate to the families she works with in a unique way. 

Miriam says she takes pleasure in “giving hope to the hopeless” by telling them her own life story.

Miriam Muchugu

Social Worker

UK Team

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David Farmer

Chair of Trustees

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Hellen Okello

Trustee

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Rev Helen Kirk

Patron

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Rose Johnston

Treasurer

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Joy Murphy

Trustee

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Steven Kanyatte

Trustee

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Genevieve Smith

UK Operations Manager

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Nigel Roberts

Trustee

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Lawrence Dickinson

Trustee

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Charlotte Roberts

Trustee

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Mike Johnston

Trustee

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Dennis Readman

Trustee

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Angela Lagat

Trust Fundraising Manager

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