Welcoming our new Trustees!
Trustees make a vital difference to the dynamism and success of non-profit organizations around the world, and we are delighted to have recently welcomed new Trustees to both our UK and Ethiopian boards.
Here in the UK, this includes BBC Senior Journalist Team Manager Hewete Haileselassie and Social Worker Emnet Yadeta.
Hewete Haileselassie is a multilingual BBC Senior Journalist Team Manager based in London and East Africa and joined our UK board in August 2022. She has been a supporter of Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia for many years alongside her busy work.
Hewete joined the BBC in 2008 and has spent much of her career in the World Service, producing for BBC Africa both from London and as a field producer across Africa. From 2016 to 2018 she was Future Talent Senior Producer for BBC World Service Languages and recently spent two years based in Nairobi as Training and Talent Manager for the region.
Hewete is passionate about diversity and inclusion, currently working on the BBC’s 50:50 Equality Project and sitting on the steering committee for BBC Global Women in News since 2014. Away from work she loves being by the sea or tall trees and has six cats spread across two continents.
Emnet Yadeta is a social worker based in Birmingham close to our UK headquarters and joined our UK board in May 2022. Emnet is passionate about child protection and has over ten years’ experience including specialist work in Toronto, Canada supporting refugees and new immigrants to have equal access to public services.
Her areas of research interest include children’s gender identity, modern slavery and trafficking, criminal exploitation, gender-based violence and FGM. Emnet has also participated in a longitudinal research project with the University of Toronto and Sick Kids Hospital to understand the mental health status of children from immigrant families.
Our parent charity Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia also recently said goodbye to board Chair Dr Ephrem Lemago and trustee Wuleta Betemariam, who have both relocated to the USA. The team have welcomed Dr Mengistu Asnake, Country Director for the NGO Pathfinder International in Ethiopia as the new Chair.
Dr Mengistu Asnake has been a dedicated member of Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia’s board since 2015 and is a public health specialist with more than 28 years of experience in reproductive health, primary health care, child survival, community health services, programme management and clinical service delivery. Pathfinder International, were he currently serves as Country Director, is one of the largest maternal health NGOs in the world and their programme in Ethiopia is extensive. Mengistu has a medical degree from Gondar College of Medical Sciences in Ethiopia.
We are delighted to welcome Mengistu, Hewete and Emnet to our UK and Ethiopia teams and look forward to working with them on new initiatives.
