Anne Egelund, Founder and Executive Director of Ubumi Prisons Initiative. Anne is a sociologist and PhD. Anne works with primarily with management, strategy, website, communication, fundraising, monitoring and evaluation of projects.

Anne has been with Ubumi (previously known as children in prisons initiative) since 2006, where she started the projects.

Contact: +4529350136

Email: ae@ubumi.dk

Lena Kresojevic is Ubumi Head of Office and Project Manager and based in Zambia. She is a sociologist and works to implement and monitor projects. Lena has been with Ubumi since 2013.

Contact: lk@ubumi.dk

Carol Chomba is project officer and an educated chef. She works with administrative matters, project implementation, including nutrition and cooking trainings for women and men in prison. Carol has been with Ubumi since 2008.

Contact: cc@ubumi.dk

Erik Steensgård is our administrative, IT and accounts officer. Erik is an educated engineer, but has worked primarily in IT. Erik has been with us since 2016. On the picture, Erik is seen driving to collect items for the correctional facilities.

Mweene Nseluke works with mental health studies and capacity building of staff and inmates in the field of mental health and psycho-social support. Mweene is a clinical officer specializing in mental health and paediatrics and a medical student (holds a bachelor degree in medicine and surgery). He has published scientific articles on mental health in prisons. Mweene is also attached to Ministry of Health.

Buster Emil Kirchner (Volunteer) was with us as avolunteer from December 2017 to June 2018. He worked with sports, activities and life skills building amongst juveniles in Lusaka Central Correctional Facility and Kamwala Remand Facility - and elsewhere to start up similar projects. Buster has experience from volunteer work with another organization in Zambia, as well as experience from other African countries. Buster is a very competent instructor and soccer coach.

He is now back in Denmark, where he will continue to work for Ubumi, especially with communication.

Shishe Mwale is a social worker working for Social Welfare. She has a heart for prisoners, and has worked as a volunteer for Ubumi since 2014.

Jette Egelund has been employed by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA) in Copenhagen for 25 years, the European Commission and has worked as an independent consultant.

Multilateral and bilateral development cooperation (political, financial and social) has been her main field of work since 1982. Key areas of her working experience have been the development banks, the UN , social development, human rights including gender, trafficking and issues in relation to prisons.

Geographically she has covered South Asia, Africa and the Caucasus. She is an Election Observer for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Red Cross volunteer (refugee children). She has been a lecturer at Danish Institute for Study Abroad, DIS, Copenhagen at a master’s level course: Trafficking and Prostitution in Europe.

Jens Skov-Spilling works as a senior adviser for Nordic Minister's Council.

Jens holds a B.Sc. and M.sc. in Economics specialising in Development Economics, a MA in Environment, Development and Policy, and a certificate in Financial Energy Analysis.

His interest for the development field evolved at university and has been a part of his professional work ever since, especially while working for the EU in Zambia at the micro, national and regional level. It was also in Zambia he met his Norwegian wife. Now they live in the greater Copenhagen area with their two kids.

Ida Thyregod is Head of Executive Office, Care International

For the past 10 years, I have been working with the UN and international non-governmental organisations at country and headquarter level. Throughout my career, I have had a passion for helping the most vulnerable. I currently head the executive office in Plan International, a child rights organisation striving for a just world that advances children's rights and equality for girls.

I have lived and worked in UK, USA, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Mozambique and Venezuela.

I live in London with my husband and three boys.

Mette Lund Sørensen

Mette’s educational background is in international development studies and natural resources management with a focus on small-holder agriculture.Her work experience includesSeven years of assignments as a freelancer in Malawi, including working for the Danish Embassy and as a country representative for DanChurchAid;Working with Africa-based projects for the LO/FTF Council (the Danish trade unions’ development wing) and for Danida Fellowship Centre in Denmark. Mette has worked as a senior adviser for DanChurchAid since 2004focusing on policy formulation, method development and quality assurance in agriculture. Apart from providing technical assistance to countries in Africa and Asia, she also works with right to food and food security and facilitates Theory of Change processes in country programming.

Mette says of her involvement in Ubumi: I am on the Ubumi board, because it is important to me to work for poor people’s right to a dignified life and to help them know their rights. Ubumi provides an opportunity to contribute to inmates getting urgent and life-saving assistance as well as helping to improve their lives inside and outside of prison in the longer term. Working for Ubumi provides the possibility of supporting the active and efficient involvement of inmates, - a group of people who are particularly vulnerable and prone to be left behind - and hereby supporting a positive development for them as individuals, for society in general and as a contribution to the fulfilment of the SDGs (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals). 

Mette Raffo

Mette is an educated nurse and is currently studying a master's degree in nursing science at Aarhus University. Mette has 18 years of experience from the Danish health service in the areas of emergency room, cancer treatment, intensive care and nursing in the primary sector. Mette has a particular interest in wound care, medicine, nutrition, health promotion and prevention. Mette has extensive experience in organizational work, guidance and education of nurses.

Mette says about her involvement in Ubumi: I want to contribute with a health science perspective on Ubumi's work in Africa. It is important to give the most vulnerable a voice and I think that is a core part of Ubumi's work. I also hope to contribute with my professional skills, both in a broad perspective and in individual cases. To promote the health of the prisoners, I regard Ubumi's most important task to prevent avoidable deaths and diseases through information and services.