About the board
Nobel Peace Prize winner (2018) Denis Mukwege, said that the Peace Prize gives hope to DR Congo. We who are board members of Jabez Verden proud and incredibly happy that our uncle Mukwege was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work in DR Congo.
Jabez World is the family’s humanitarian action to help the Peace Prize laureate give hope to children and young people who are victims of the Congo war.
The board of Jabez Verden reflects a committed family that has different professional skills to lead and operate a humanitarian organization.
· CEO: Willy Bahati Namugunga
Willy Namugunga is the son of the founder of College Namugnuga. Willy as main Pastor and general manager of Bukavu’s largest congregation he is a strategic and important social player in DR Congo. He resides in Norway and commutes between the continents to closely follow the humanitarian work that Jabez Verden does in the village of Nyangezi.
Chairman: Neema Gracia Bahati
Neema Bahati is a bachelor student in Law and Administration at Molde University College. She has practical and theoretical expertise on public administration, political processes, legal expertise and that she has knowledge of important parts about human rights in our democracy. Chairman of Bahati ensures Jabez Verden a good understanding of the interaction between law, politics and organizational work.
Deputy Chairman: Mushagalusa Bakenga Joar Namugunga
Mushaga Bakenga is a professional football player for Odds Ballklubb and former Rosenborg player. Bakenga is a team builder, as a football player he has a thorough understanding of the importance of good teamwork and the interaction in a team to create good results. As a football player, he has a good starting point with knowledge in contract terms, communication, marketing, management, and how to ensure targeted results.
Board member: Leon Bafondoko
Leon Bafondoko is a guest writer in Adresseavisen and AP (political party in Norway) profile. He is a city council member in Trondheim and that he works as a project manager in Trøndelag County Council by Thora Storm VGS (Thora Storm High School). Bafondoko studies bachelors in sociology and social analysis at North University in Steinkjer. He has held a number of top positions in organizations such as Plan International Norway, the Red Cross and the UN Association. Bafondoko has a broad and thorough insight into how politics, society and social life work, and that he is a strategist and a rhetoric in communication and political influence.
Board member: Samuel Namugunga
Samuel Namugunga is studying Music Design at Subject School Studies – Kristiania University College in Trondheim. He has a thorough theoretical and practical knowledge of what is required to be able to deliver comprehensive creative productions of high technical quality to different target groups. Through practical work on music production and sound design, he has developed knowledge about how sound affects content and messages, as well as skills within strategic establishment in the audiovisual industry. Namugunga has a language ear and has the ability to quickly learn foreign languages, among other things, he speaks and writes Norwegian, English, Dutch, French. Namugunga was born in DR Congo and has grown up in the Netherlands and Belgium – he ensures Jabez Verden a good culture and language understanding.
Board member: Elizabeth Otragane
Board member: Sarah Otragane
Sarah is 25 years old, and is studying Medicine in the city of Bergen. «I joined this organization as soon as I heard the initiative from fellow family members. My grandfather Samuel Namugunga has inspired both me and so many other people to keep serving others even if one doesn’t have everything figured out in one’s own life. I wish to live by this example and therefore I’ve chosen to spend time working with this project alongside my studies and work. «