Team in Chile
FRANCISCA FERNÁNDEZ
Chairwoman
In 2015 I came to Amandla through a friend who told me about the foundation. I believe that all the boys and girls in the world deserve to be happy and have the same opportunities, Amandla gave me the opportunity to do something effective to achieve it. As sponsor I offered to help in my spare time, later I was part of the board and today I am president of the foundation and the proud sponsor of Freedom and Valentine.
JOHN PAUL WINTER
Founder and Project Team
Former resident of the village of Xitlhelani (April 2012- December 2013). Participant and co-responsible for a community dream that, according to official records, positions him as the founder of Amandla.
Journalist (University of Chile), with master's degrees in Public Policy (University College London) and in International Development, Poverty and Inequity (University of Manchester). PhD candidate (University of Sheffield), whose main areas of interest relate to community organizing, justice and social change.
PATRICIA SEPULVEDA
Secretary and Administration and Finance Team
Lawyer by profession y mother of Juan Pablo, currently 12 years old. Much of my professional career I carried out in the public sector and in ODFL.
Godmother of Penny since the beginning of Amandla and since 2018 I have participated in the management team, supporting the Area of
Managementand Finance.
PABLO SANTANDER
Treasurer and Administration and Finance Team
Pharmaceutical chemist. I work as an operational excellence specialist within the drug manufacturing industry.
From the beginning as a sponsor and now as a member of the management team, my participation in Amandla stems from the conviction that education is the most powerful tool to advance towards a just and dignified world
for everyone.
SIMONE BAEZA MARTIGNAGO
Director and Project Team
I joined the Amandla board in 2017, after living for a year in eSwatini, Africa, where I also had the opportunity to meet and fall in love with the village and the children. I am a Social Worker (P. Universidad Católica de Chile) with a master's degree in International Politics (Newcastle University). Today I am part of the Projects team and I am Penny's godmother.
Karen Silva
Project Team
I am by profession an Educational Psychologist and Child and Adolescent Clinician from the University of Santiago de Chile. I was the second volunteer at Amandla land during the period 2017-2018.
I am in charge of coordinating volunteers on the ground in South Africa. I came to Amandla through América Solidaria, to which I had initially applied to volunteer.
DANIEL GARCIA
Communications Team
Sometime in 2015 I received a call that made my soul happy. I was asked if I wanted to sponsor an amazing girl in a Xitlhelani village in South Africa. A few months ago I had learned about Amandla's project that supported education in Africa and, when I wanted to join, all the sponsors were already there so I waited… until that call. Since that date I have been the godfather of Nzalama and I am part of a family without borders.
ORIANA AVILES
Communications Team
I am a political scientist and master in strategic communication.
The Amandla Foundation appeared in my life just when I felt that nothing made sense.
From that moment, everything changed.
I think we can all take care of and support each other even though we are thousands of miles away and, through education, we can make our society much better and fairer.
DIVA BENAVIDES
Team Community
I have always felt the responsibility and commitment to generating well-being and alleviating suffering in people, whether in a professional role or in daily life. Thus arises a desire to translate this help into actions, Amandla being a space of love and dedication in which I found refuge and a place where I co-create participation in the world from
interdependence and compassion.
Team in South Africa
James Manganyi
village chieftainship
I am a teacher at Mahunsti Public High School, with a BSc in Education and a BSc Hon's in Chemistry (Limpopo University). I started collaborating with Amandla in 2015 helping to identify the most vulnerable families in our community. I inform the community about the Amandla scholarship program and the benefits they bring to our boys and girls. I encourage parents to take an active role in helping their children.
ESROME CHAUKE
Coordinator in South Africa
I have been working for Amandla since 2015. I love working for the organization, as I really like spending time and helping children. I take them to school, I organize meetings with their parents, I collect their progress reports, I am in charge of buying their uniforms and school supplies, and I go to schools and homes to address any difficulties they may have. I have also developed a sports program where I teach soccer and life skills.
HLAMALANI MANGANYI
Volunteer in South Africa
I am the mother of Thapelo, who got a scholarship from Amandla in 2019. I learned about the organization from Ngalava's mother and I started volunteering at the beginning of 2020. I used to go with Natalia, the 2018 volunteer, to visit families and help boys and girls with their homework. I felt so attached to and happy with this job that I decided to volunteer. I am delighted to have the opportunity to help our boys and girls.
THOMAS NOBELA
Volunteer in South Africa
Hello everyone. Ezrome introduced me to Amandla about five years ago and since then I have been helping as a translator at meetings, program coordinator during the farewells and welcomes of our new volunteers from Chile. At some point, I had to help Mheho, my nephew, improve his grades and I have succeeded. I am now responsible for taking Freedom, one of our scholarship recipients, to his school and medical visits. I make sure he is well cared for and healthy.
RIPFUMELO MASHABA
Volunteer in South Africa
I am the mother of Fortunate, who got the scholarship in 2019. I heard talk about Amandla thanks to Ezrom. In January 2020, I was one of the mothers who volunteered to help the organization. I am happy to collaborate. Being close to the children and helping them with their homework gives me joy and peace. I go to the schools to verify their dedication and behavior. I hope to continue working and helping our little ones to be better.
JOSHUA CHAUKE
Volunteer in South Africa
I am a third year Geology student and a resident of the village of Xitlhelani. I have been helping Amandla with translation since she started, when I was still living in Rhulani. Love and peace overflow the hearts of all the members of the foundation, who shape the future of the youth of the village including me. I love reading, especially poetry, also soccer and learning new things every day.
NIKIWE BALOYI
Volunteer in South Africa
I am a 11th grade student at EPP Mhinga High School. I am 17 years old and I am a volunteer for Amandla. I help the volunteers who come to Xitlhelani to get to know the village and, mainly, I help them with translations. I met Juan Pablo Winter when he was still in elementary school at Holy Rosary School and if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be part of the foundation.
Our Collaborators
NIKIWE BALOYI
Volunteer in South Africa
I am a 11th grade student at EPP Mhinga High School. I am 17 years old and I am a volunteer for Amandla. I help the volunteers who come to Xitlhelani to get to know the village and, mainly, I help them with translations. I met Juan Pablo Winter when he was still in elementary school at Holy Rosary School and if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be part of the foundation.
Our Volunteers
CATALINA RIOBÓ AND RODRIGO GUERRERO
Volunteer and volunteer 2019
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Anthropologist, respectively. We were volunteers in the field in 2019, being able to witness the Foundation's commitment and the importance of its work for the lives of many families. We believe in the Amandla project because it stems from the needs proposed by the Xitlhelani community itself, focusing on an area as sensitive and crucial as the education of children and support in their development.
NATALIA URETA
Volunteer 2018-2019
I am Natalia Ureta, a social worker at UNAB. In 2018, Amandla invited me to the process that finally led me to continue with her educational project. The most significant thing about this experience was the cultural contrast, which made it possible to discover differences, but above all similarities, and create common spaces. This adventure enriches and unites everyone who is part of it. There the "we are all one" becomes more real than ever.
Karen Silva
Volunteer 2017-2018
I am Karen Silva, a psychologist from USACH. I was the 2nd volunteer in the village during the period 2017-2018. Volunteering in Xitlhelani was a wonderful and extreme experience at the same time, one can really perceive that with a little support profound changes can be generated in terms of reducing poverty levels through quality education. I change my vision of the world in terms of understanding that we are all one.
VALENTINA HIGUERAS
Volunteer 2016-2017
My name is Valentina Higueras Lara, born in Chillán, spoiled in Temuco.
Estudié Trabajo Social en la Universidad Católica de Temuco, conocí a Amandla a través de América Solidaria, rellené unos formularios, pasé_cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_interviews and I went to the Xitlelani village in South Africa for 10 months as Amandla's first volunteer.
As a professional and as a person, I faithfully believe in education as a process to generate fairness and equality processes.
