Meet the ZOA-Zambia team
Zambia Orphan Aids-Zambia affectionately known as ZOA-Z, lead on ZOA’s strategic programme development and management, monitoring and evaluation. The team is led by our Chief Executive Officer, Grace Kancheya Nkhuwa, and supported by Patricia Mbao, Project Coordinator, Given Kabota, Project Assistant and Ben Nonde Lwatula, Project Officer in Kasama and governed by a board of governors.
ZOA-Z liaise directly with our grassroots partners and make sure that all the money you raise is spent effectively and that our projects are delivering the best they possibly can for all the orphans and vulnerable children we support. Their income comes from a variety of sources including ZOA-UK and ZOA-US.
To contact the team please call on +260 96 6740663 or email [email protected]
In the office
Grace Kancheya Nkhuwa, CEO
Grace joined the team in 2019 bringing over 20 years’ experience in development work including working with vulnerable communities on agriculture, financial inclusion and disability.
Grace is passionate about contributing to changing the lives of the less privileged in society. Coming from a humble background herself, she fully appreciates how education is an equaliser.
Patricia Mbao, Project Coordinator
Patricia has worked for financial institutions and the Non-Governmental Organisation sector and brings with her 18 years of management, procurement, accountancy and administration experience.
Patricia is motivated by her passion to do something positive for those less privileged.
Mubiana Mweenda, Finance and Administration Officer
Mubiana has a degree from the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants and joins ZOA-Z after two years at a law firm.
ZOA-Zambia Board of Trustees
ZOA Zambia is governed by a Board of Trustees who are highly committed and share a wide range of experience. They include government economists and engineers, gender, health and education experts, human rights advocates and food security experts. Along with the office team they all have a passion to help vulnerable children in their own country.
Dr Tukiya Kankasa-Mabula, Chair
Tukiya is a respected lawyer, educator, administrator, business woman and advocate on gender issues. She served as the Deputy Governor at the Bank of Zambia until December 2019.
Tukiya is a passionate advocate of human rights for woman and children and worked with UNICEF to incorporate child rights into the Zambian Constitution.
Dr Patrick Nkanza, Vice-Chair
Bernadette Mulenga, Treasurer
Professionally trained as a secretary, Bernadette worked in private sector mine and law firms. Alongside her secretarial career and after retirement she volunteered her time at a number of cooperatives and at her local church.
She is particularly interested in helping orphans and vulnerable children and was keen to contribute to the ZOA’s work.
Mrs Gertrude Zulu
Gertrude began her career in the newly independent Zambia’s Ministry of Social Welfare supporting disadvantaged families in the Copper Belt area. Later she completed an MBA in Finance and subsequently worked in accounting.
However, throughout her studying and working life she’s had an interest in organisations working for the welfare of girls and women. This lead her to meeting Shimwaayi and being involved in forming ZOA.
Robie Siamwiza, Monitoring and Evaluation Committee Chair
Robie is a former Senior Lecturer in the Social Development Studies Department at the University of Zambia and has been a consultant in the gender, health and education sectors for 25 years.
In addition to serving on the ZOA-Z board she is an active volunteer for civil society and faith based organisations in Zambia.
Robert Liebenthal
Robert is a development economist and manager with more than 40 years of management and field experience covering Africa, Europe and Central Asia. From 1975 to 2002, he worked at the World Bank, where he held various professional and management positions.
Since retiring from the Bank and moving back to Zambia, he has worked as an economic consultant for various organizations.
Gideon Bulwani
Gideon is an Organisation Development consultant and specialises in providing capacity building services to public, private and civil society sector organisations.
His areas of expertise include institutional development, strategic planning, organisational change, leadership and executive coaching and board development support.
Pamela Thole
Pamela has over 40 years’ experience working in the agricultural sector specialising in food security with a focus on crop production, seed industry, livestock production and agriculture entrepreneurship and project management.
She has worked with Non Governmental Organisations on capacity building programmes and project evaluations.
Nkaka Kasonde
A highly successful Chartered Accountant with excellent knowledge of financial reporting and accounting, tax and audit.
Nkaka decided to volunteer his skills to ZOA-Z because of his passion to contribute to poverty alleviation and his belief that education support is a key intervention.
The beating heart of Zambia Orphans Aid. It’s our partners who deliver the projects that transform the lives of orphans and vulnerable children.
Day in, day out, we’re working to transform the lives of orphans and vulnerable children through education. Find out more about the impact we have.
“My mum and dad died when I was young so I live alone with my grandmother. Growing up without a parent is a challenge. I walk eight kilometres to and from school and when there’s no food at home it makes it hard to concentrate in class.”
£26 can provide a children with a nutritious school meal for a whole year
£40 cam kit a child out with everything they need for school
£51 can pay the school fees for one primary pupil for a year
£88 can pay the school fees for one secondary pupil for a year
“My parents passed away when I was eight. I faced a lot of challenges but with the help of others I overcame these. I was supported by ZOA from the age of 15. It felt like I had parents somewhere doing their best for their child. Teaching is my passion. I received my degree in Secondary Education at the School of Natural Sciences, Chemistry and Philosophy. My ambition for the future is to complete a PhD and help others.”
£200 can provide a student with a refurbished laptop.
£1000 can pay the college fees and subsistence support for one year for a tertiary student.
“I remember my painful childhood years when everyone saw me as a burden. I didn’t have friends to play with but my grandmother showed me love. Life was a real challenge for us and I believe that’s why my brothers stopped school and my sisters got married early. I was serious about school because I saw it as my only hope out of misery. When I completed school I applied for a three year Primary Teacher Diploma Course and was put on ZOA support. I want to become a teacher and help my family and fellow people with disabilities.”
£500 can pay for adaptive equipment to support pupils with disabilities at school.
£85 can pay the monthly salary of a house mother to give additional support to pupils with disabilities.
£250 can pay the monthly salary of a frontline worker counselling at risk children.
To contact the team please call on +260 96 6740663 or email [email protected]
Help Change a Child's Future
Your help can support children through primary and
secondary school, provide nutritious school meals so pupils
aren’t learning on an empty stomach and support those that can
through tertiary vocational training. We provide a holistic
approach so also provide mental health support and other inputs
where needed.