Mwangaza's New Board

Given Mwangaza's new non-governmental organization (NGO) status, in October 2023, the new Mwangaza Board had their first meeting in Tanzania. The board membership is diverse, including educators, church leaders, community members, and employees of other NGOs. Dr. Laura Wangsness Willemsen represented the Friends of Mwangaza board at this meeting. She reported that the board meeting was “a full house of eager participants, all ready to support the work of Mwangaza.”

After introductions, the meeting covered important work. This included agreeing upon board organization and bylaws and listening to reports from the Mwangaza Team and Friends of Mwangaza. These reports celebrated the many successes of the last year for Mwangaza. 

“Finally and importantly,” Laura added, “the team had prepared a wonderful tea and lunch, which allowed us to mingle and get to know each other. People were engaged, eager, and enthusiastic the whole day.”

In addition to the new board, Mwangaza is updating their strategic plan and Theory of Change, which is a key component of monitoring and evaluation. In January, the Mwangaza Team and its two advisors, Dr. Phillip Wilder and Daudi Msseemmaa, will begin developing a strategic plan. “All of this while Mwangaza continues to serve students, teachers, heads of school, and parents through their programming,” Laura reminds us. “We, and all of Tanzania, are so blessed to have such incredibly wise, kind, committed, talented servant leaders in the Mwangaza staff.”