News from Rwanda Action's Chair

Dear Friend of Rwanda Action

My fellow trustees and I are delighted to announce that we have appointed Janyis Watson as Rwanda Action’s CEO. Janyis has held the position as Operations Director for over five years, and we are pleased that she has agreed to take on this new role. She is passionate about Rwanda Action and her vision aligns perfectly with our core values and strategic objectives. Janyis has an excellent relationship with our team in Rwanda and has worked alongside our founder, David Chaplin, for many years.

Robbie McMillan took over as CEO in 2022, and during this time he has worked with enthusiasm to move Rwanda Action forward. Robbie has now stepped down as CEO and we thank him for his contribution to the charity over the last year.

With the appointment of our new CEO, we are confident that Rwanda Action will continue to thrive and build upon the strong foundation laid by our founder. David remains heavily involved in Rwanda Action, as the fundraising lead in the UK, and he continues to work alongside the Rwandan education team supporting The Learning Initiative.

This change in leadership will not disrupt our ongoing projects, programmes, or collaborative efforts. We remain dedicated to our mission and RA is now placing an even greater emphasis on ensuring the growth and sustainability of our key projects by working closely with the Government at local and national levels, with the aim of having the projects gradually adopted and replicated across Rwanda. This process has already begun, and we have been very encouraged by the responses to date.

At the same time, it is our plan to give our local RA team greater autonomy and control by establishing them as a local NGO, not least to ensure that the charity is truly embedded in Rwanda. We are already working on an appropriate framework for this going forward.

We value the support and trust you have placed in Rwanda Action over the years, and we believe that with your continued partnership, we can reach even greater heights as the charity enters an important phase of its work. We look forward to working closely with you under our new leadership and strengthening our collective impact.

Thank you once again for your continual support and be assured that the commitment to our mission Empowering Communities to Reduce Poverty remains unwavering.

With my best wishes,

Deanne Thomas, Chair