March 2005

Country Directors: Leaders for the End of Hunger

The country directors of The Hunger Project are chosen for their commitment, integrity and dynamism. They must possess the rare combination of abilities to be effective in mobilizing grassroots people as well as able to work effectively with national-level leadership. Hunger Project country directors must be deeply grounded in the principles of people-centered, integrated, self-reliant development and gender equality, as they must call forth a national movement for the end of hunger based on these principles.

Profiles of Our Country Directors (alphabetical by country)

Bangladesh: Badiul Majumdar, PhD (Case Western). Prof. Majumdar joined The Hunger Project in 1993 and was named a global vice president in 2003. He is a former professor of business and economics at Central Washington University. Prof. Majumdar’s recommendation was written by his mentor, the famed management expert Peter F. Drucker.
Benin: Pascal Djohossou, MS (France, forest management). Mr. Djohossou was named country director in 2001, after a distinguished career with Benin’s Ministry of Rural Development and Forest Service since 1982. He has been an innovator in new cash crops and women’s empowerment.
Bolivia: Rafael García Mora, SJ, PhD (Barcelona, Leeds, biology). Dr. García has been director-general of Fundacion ACLO, our program partner in Bolivia, since 2000. He has served as a director of CIPCA - a nonprofit institute for the development of indigenous people - since 1983.
Burkina Faso: Idrissa Ousmane Dicko, PhD (University of Georgia, agricultural entomology). Dr. Dicko has served as country director for The Hunger Project-Burkina Faso since March 1997. He was a professor at the University of Ouagadougou for 15 years, where he also held the position of administrative director of the Institute of Rural Development. In 2000, Prof. Dicko was awarded the Medal of the National Order, his country’s highest honor.
Ethiopia: Wondimagegnehou A. Gubaie, MSC (Kansas University, business administration). Prior to becoming country director in 2004, Mr. Gubaie managed the Urban Development Support Service, Prime Minister’s Office (1995-7); coordinated World Bank projects; served as commercial counselor, Ethiopian Embassy (with Italy, East Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia) (1979-84); and as head, Inland Revenue Department and then of Budget Department, Ministry of Finance (1966-79).
Ghana: Naana Agyemang-Mensah, PhD (Michigan State, Adult/Non Formal Education, and Community Development/Women in Development). Before joining The Hunger Project in 2000, Dr. Agyemang-Mensah worked with the Ghanaian National Council on Women and Development (NCWD) and as a consultant for the World Bank. She has introduced innovations in literacy and women’s empowerment.
India: Rita Sarin, MA (Nottingham). A pioneer in women’s studies in India, Ms. Sarin served as a program officer for the Swedish International Development Agency for 15 years before becoming country director in 2001. She now leads a nationwide alliance of 60 organizations implementing Hunger Project strategies to empower women in local democracy.
Malawi: Rowlands Kaotcha, MA (University of Malawi, agriculture). Mr. Kaotcha became country director in 2004, after serving as project officer since 2002. He has introduced innovations in rural health care and HIV/AIDS prevention that are now promoted widely by the UN.
Mexico: Lorena Vazquez, MS (Monterey Institute of Technology). Ms. Vazquez joined The Hunger Project staff as general manger in 2000, and was named country director in 2004. Previously, she had a successful career in computer science at EDS in Mexico City and Atlanta. She mobilized animators and catalysts to launch a new, decentralized strategy for The Hunger Project-Mexico by expanding the local cadre of leadership in six states in Mexico. She is also a marathon runner.
Peru: Tarcila Rivera Zea. An indigenous Quechua, as a child Ms. Rivera became a domestic in exchange for education, learning Spanish only at age 18. She founded our program partner, Chirapaq, in 1985, initially to help Quenchua children whose parents had been murdered by Shining Path guerillas. She led Chirapaq to become a leading nodal agency for the rights of indigenous women. She was chosen to represent seven Latin American countries at the 2004 UN Conference on Indigenous Peoples.
Senegal: Aboubacar Kourouma, MS (Michigan State, agricultural economics). Country director since 1997, Mr. Kourouma previously served as a consultant to FAO and as deputy director of agriculture of Senegal, where he finalized Senegal’s submission to the 1996 World Food Summit in Rome.
Uganda: Irene Wasike Muwanguzi, MPA (Makerere University). Before being named country direct in 2004, Ms. Muwanguzi had served as coordinator of our AWFFI program since 2003, and as an education project officer for World Learning. She is leading The Hunger Project-Uganda in rapid expansion and close partnership with local governments.