Governance & Management
We take this very, very seriously. We are building a Responsible & Competent organisation.
A Responsible Organisation
We have systems that hold us accountable. We have two registered non-profit entities, one in Uganda and one in the UK. The Ugandan entity is accountable to the Ugandan law, the UK to the English law. Both entities have constitutions that clearly lay out the decision and accountability mechanisms and responsibilities of Board members. The UK entity is primarily responsible for the fundraising outside of Uganda and supporting the Ugandan entiity on strategy and management. The Ugandan entity is responsible for designing and implementing the charity’s strategy, on the ground operations and additional fundraising in Uganda. Child safeguarding is every board members’s responsibility.
Our members hold us accountable. We refer to Jabali members, not beneficiaries. That’s because they are members of the Jabali community and their voice and agency matters profoundly to our collective sucess. We are deeply committed to ensuring that each member feels safe and comfortable raising complaints and concerns to any member of the Board or Management and is aware of their rights. We are working with leading experts to ensure that our member feedback mechanisms and safeguarding approach are in line with global best practice.
We will embark on a responsible growth strategy. We will take a slow and cautious approach to growing the charity. We want to make a long-term and holistic commitment to every member and will work hard to ensure that we don’t find ourselves unable to deliver this to any member we have committed to.
A Competent Organisation
We have relevant skills and experience. Our Board has years of experience in managing children’s support charities and entrepreneuership, including firsthand experience in building organisations from the ground up, notably in Uganda. Each member specializes in one of the five domains: Fundraising, Communications, Operations, Finance, Governance systems. Together, they collaboratively shape our strategic direction, drawing from their diverse professional backgrounds to ensure holistic leadership across all areas.
We are setting up and Advisory Council to ensure we are in line with the blobal best practice in all areas of our work, we will convene an Advisory Council of Individuals who bring specialist expertise and networks in areas crucial to the charity’s success. These include charity Governance and management, Child safeguarding , Education, Personal development, fundraising, communications and law. The Advisory Board will meet quarterly and individual Advisors may be engaged on an ad-hoc basis when specific guidance and support are needed.
We will maintain a fit-for-purpose management team as we grow
Levels in our Governance & Management
Level One
All Board members have areas of responsibility and will contnue to dedicate a few hours per week to executing important tasks within those domains
Level Two
Our part-time operations and Administration Officer's level of effort will be scaled up from 40% to 100% as our activitiesand number of members grow.
Level Three
If/when we reach a certain scale - currently projected to be 100 members - we will hire a full time Uganda Country manager.
Level Four
We will work with Volunteers and Interns (starting with current members in tertiary education) to help get things done.
Meet our Team
Henry Mayanja
Trustee & Co-Founder
Allan's brother, was born nd grew up in Naguru Slum in kampala. Henry and Allan worked at Lugogo Tennis as ball-boys, and later tennis coaches, to support their family and finance. Having financed his primary and secondary education by working at Lugogo and through scholarships, he completed a Bachelor or Business Computing at Uganda Christian University. Soon after this he was appointed as Programme Manager of Uganda Children's Trust Fund, the same charity that supported him through education. At this time he met our co-founder Joe, with whom he went into entreprenuerial ventures in real estate and construction equipment leasing.
Henry is now the Uganda Country Director for the global non profit organisation Streetchild. He also founded Trailblazer Logistics Solution, which provides car hire, safari, and other logistics services in Uganda.
Allan Senabulya
Trustee & Co-Founder
Allan grew up with henry in Naguru and similarly worked at Lugogo Tennis Club to support the family and raise money for school fees. Allan, also supported by Uganda Children's Trust Fund, then studied Bachelor of Business Administration at Makerere University and was approached by the charity to become its Finance Director. His entreprenueral pursuits have included vehicle and heavy machinery imort trade, car hire, and real estate investment. He later worked for StreetChild as Finance Manager befoe joining AfriMech, a construction machinery importer, as Sales Manager
Max Walter
Trustee & Co-Founder
Originally from Germany, grew up in Kampala from age 9 to 19. He met Henry and Allan at Lugogo Tennis Club soon after arriving in Uganda and they have been close friends ever since. As a teenager, Max co-founded an under-16 football club, Spirit FC, which competed at the highest levels and was composed of some of the country's brightest football talents from low-income Kampala households. Having studied Philosophy and Economics as well as Development Studies in the UK, Max returned to live in East Africa - now based in Nairobi, Kenya, working as an economic policy advisor. He visists Kampala regulary.
Joe Cottingham
Trustee & Co-Founder
Joe lived in Uganda for 6 years which is where he met Henry, Allan, Olivia and Max. He managed a scholarship program for 4 of those years, witnessing firsthand how powerful education and sport can be as a vehicle for change.
Joe continued to support kids in Uganda after leaving. He went on to work a s a researcher for a group of African companies operating across east and southern Africa. He is now a farmer in Yorkshire.
Olivia de Burgh Marsh
Trustee & Co-Founder
Olivia works in marketing for a pharmaceutical company and lives just outside London. She met Joe, Henry and Allan when she volunteered in Uganda at the age of 18 and returned regulary to Uganda in her University holidays for a run summer camps. Olivia was delighted to get involved when Jabali was launched, and is looking forward to returning to Uganda to run training weeks to support the children and young adults on the programme.
Polly de Burgh Marsh
Trustee & Co-Founder
Polly lives in London where she works for a media freedom and human rights charity. Like her sister Olivia, Polly has spent some time in Uganda, volunteering wit youth programs in both Kampala and Mbale. During this time, she met Henry and Allan and was impressed with their vision for offering long-term educational support for young people in Uganda most in need.