our team
John Mitchell
(CEO) (Voluntary)
John has been a statistician, trade union official and director of fundraising. He has been involved with Africa for thirty years and is a founder member of Schools and Health Foundation.
Helen Mitchell
(Company Secretary) (Voluntary)
Helen worked in the Finance Department of Electric Ireland. She is another founder member of the foundation.
Bernice O’Brien
(Schools Coordinator)
Bernice is a secondary school teacher and has coordinated the construction of many schools in Africa and in the process raised more than €200 000. Bernice is another founder member.
Debbie O'Connell (Volunteer}
Debbie is a a Logistics Learning & Development liaison with over 16 years experience in Supply Chain. Debbie has visited Africa several times and is one of our main supporters.
BOARD
Dr. Brian Aylward
Brian has worked as a chemist and trade union official and was Personnel Director with Irish Cement. He is a former chair of the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
Turlough O’Sullivan (Chair)
Turlough was Director General of Irish Business & Employers’ Confederation (IBEC). He is a member of the board of Children’s Health Ireland, responsible for running Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin, Temple Street University Hospital and the National Children’s Hospital Tallaght. The board will oversee the new Children’s Hospital scheduled to open in 2023/4. Turlough is also MD of Resolve Ireland and is a company director and consultant to organisations in the public and private sector.
David Iredale
David is a Rights Commissioner with the Workplace Relations Commission. He previously worked as a personnel and human resources manager.
Kevin Gaughran
Kevin was Assistant General Secretary of Civil and Public Services Trade Union. He was a founder member of Electricaid and served on the board of the Combined Services Third World Fund.
Marian Hackett
Marian retired from Bank of Ireland as Head of Emerging Markets Risk – Global Markets after a career spanning almost 40 years. During that time she held various positions relating to International Banking, Corporate & Treasury risk and Trade Finance. The latter part of her career focused primarily on the research and analysis of Bank and Country risk in Emerging Markets which included visits to various key developing countries. She was a member of the BOI Staff Third World Fund and has been involved in the sponsorship of students in Kenya for over 20 years.
Martin O’Connor
Martin worked in ESB for 36 years. During that time he served a number of terms on the National Executive of the ESB Officers’ Association (now the ESU). He was also a member of the Executive of ElectricAid, the ESB staff run development fund. On leaving ESB Martin worked as Education Adviser with Church of Ireland Bishops’ Appeal, the Church’s Overseas Aid and Development Programme. He now volunteers whit Christian Aid and the Society of Saint Vincent DePaul. He currently serves as Assistant Priest in the Parish of Clondalkin and Rathcoole in the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough.
John Ryan
A recently retired electronics engineer, and former graduate from the University of Limerick. The initial part of his career was with an Irish semi state body working in the area of product development. However since 1984 he has been with the European Commission where he held various technical and managerial posts providing instrumentation and informatics support in the areas of energy, health, consumer rights and food safety.
Alimamy Samura
Country Director
Sierra Leone
I am Alimamy Samura, born on the 27th day of November, 1977 in Lunsar Town. Lunsar Town is in Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. I am a First Class Sierra Leonean citizen belonging to the Limba ethnic group. I did my Primary School Education at the Roman Catholic Primary School in Lunsar and further with my Secondary School Education at the Marampa Islamic Secondary School in Lunsar where I obtained a General Certificate of Education Ordinary level. I further did a three years course at the St. Joseph Vocational Institute in Lunsar and graduated with a General Certificate in Agriculture. Not finding any employment, I introduced commercial bike riding in Marampa Chiefdom and Lunsar in particular. After three years as commercial driver, I was employed as Field Monitor at Royail Integrated Agricultural Development Project in the year 2004. In 2007 I was employed by the St. John of God Food Security Development Programme as a Field Supervisor. I found myself out of job when the Programme faced out and been out of employment at the outbreak of the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone. I joined the Task Force Commanders in the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease. I was later employed as Tally Clerk at Dawnus International in 2015 where I served before the closure of the company. I now find myself working for Schools and Health Foundation as Project Field Supervisor.