Trustees

UK Trustees

John Faith MRICS: Children of Uganda (UK) Chairman

John is the Chairman and founding shareholder of the Kitewood Group, a UK property development and investment company operating in the areas of commercial development, private housing, affordable housing, healthcare and strategic land. The organisation operates from the City of London, Kent and Wiltshire.

Previously, John was founder and senior partner in a multi-disciplinary professional practice in architecture, town planning, building surveying, valuation, and project management, the constituent parts of which continue to operate successfully 30 years after their creation.
John is Chairman of Children of Uganda (UK) as well as the UK Chairman of BSUF. His involvement in Uganda and Kenya began 10 years ago with educational sponsorship of children.

In 2007, he founded Kitewood Uganda in Kampala. Kitewood Uganda’s purpose is to create business opportunity in Uganda, and help people achieve independence by acquiring the skills needed to become self sustaining, breaking the cycle of dependence on aid from NGOs. In addition to delivering opportunity to Ugandans, its objectives include contribution of future profits toward funding of Children of Uganda and BSUF programmes.

John is committed to helping others less fortunate than himself.

Jon Exton MBA: Children of Uganda (UK) Treasurer & Trustee

Jon has worked in corporate finance and banking for over 25 years. He spent many years in Canada, starting in the hotel industry and subsequently becoming an international corporate banker.

After returning to the UK, Jon worked for 12 years in multinational banking for two international banks.

Jon now works independently as a Financial Consultant, providing advice on corporate finance & fund raising for private companies & charities. He specialises in film and media, property financing and venture capital.

Jon is FSA registered, a member of the Securities & Investment Institute and The Worshipful Company of International Banks. He is actively involved in charity work and is a Trustee on 3 charities, whose work covers the UK, Uganda and China. He is also a member of the Microfinance Club UK.

Dawn Perry BA Hons: Children of Uganda (UK) General Manager

Dawn has a background in marketing and advertising, having worked with large multi-national advertising agencies on major brands. She started her career with Saatchi & Saatchi in London and then moved to Sydney, Australia. While in Australia she moved to the marketing side of the business and it was a start up media company that brought her back to the UK in 2004. Now she is a marketing consultant working on a number of projects.

Dawn has worked with Children of Uganda (UK) since 2007, working with Annette until she returned to Uganda in 2008.

Uganda Trustees

Annette Mbedha: BSUF Founder & Director

Since I was a young girl, I have always been a dreamer… and I mean BIG dreams. I am very fortunate to come from a middle class family in Uganda which enabled me to benefit from a good standard of living and good education system.

However, from an early age, I identified myself with the village, Butansi, which was our country “home”. My Father used to supply the villagers with sugar, soap, paraffin – and at Christmas time precious gifts of beef or pork. My Mother would give us food to take to people who had nothing to eat and our home was an ‘open house’ for meals for everyone in the village.

I came to England to further my education, but being away from Uganda somehow made me more determined to do something for my homeland that’s living in poverty and with HIV/AIDS. On the 4th of August 2005 I decided to sponsor two orphans from my village with the help of my brother, Ambrose, based in Kampala, and so here was the beginning of the realisation of my vision.

My late Father had a very big influence on my life and I decided to carry on his good works. So I started The Byemba Suubira Uganda Foundation (BSUF), as a tribute to my parents and a commitment to carry on the work that they started. “I have a lot in common with the people of Butansi village in that I come from that village and I speak the same language. However, I have had great opportunities in my life, which they have not had.”

I am so thankful that Children of Uganda (UK) , founded by my good friends John Faith and Jon Exton, supports me and our endeavours in Uganda.

Now the dreams have got bigger and we want to do much more for my village and Uganda. As well as helping the orphans, there is a real need to assist the young people in terms of skills and health awareness and to also help the women learn new skills, so that they can be more self sufficient. There is a need for a clinic to operate in the village, so that the sick do not have to walk 6 miles to the nearest hospital. We have plans for a community centre, with power and water, that will house the clinic. The Community Centre will be the base for fulfilling the dream of giving the whole community a better standard of education and self sufficiency, a better standard of healthcare and a better standard of living.

We seek to make Butansi a working village model, which can then be rolled out to other villages in the region and the whole of Uganda.

We need support (be it financial or benefit in kind) to help fulfil this dream and for the villagers to have a chance to fulfill theirs.

Peter Mugogo: BSUF Trustee

Peter has recently joined the BSUF team. He has his own travel company, taking tourists on guided tours in Uganda, but is also happy to assist with BSUF.

He is very resourceful and brings an added strength to the team.