Our Team
Cheryl McFaddin, Executive Director
Cheryl is a Licensed Master of Science in Social Work with 21 years of experience, most of which has been in child welfare and mental health, including running two homes for children ages 0-12. Cheryl has experience as a social welfare officer in America and England and also spent 5 years working in the emergency room of a children’s hospital. She took over as Executive Director of Neema House in 2014 and has been instrumental in the development of all programs, policies, procedures, and staff training.
Lucas Matumba, Assistant Director
Matumba has a Bachelor Degree in Sociology and has been working with Neema House as Social Worker since March 2016. Matumba was integral in performing investigations to search for family for all new children; coordinating family reunifications, and doing follow-up safety visits. He helped grow Maisha Matters and is leading a new health education outreach program. Matumba was promoted to Director of Community Outreach in March 2020 as he oversaw all outreach programs for Neema House Tanzania.
In January 2021, Matumba was promoted as Assistant Director and now oversees all Neema House programs and day-to-day operations.
Amina Suka, Office Administrator / Finance Assistant
Amina has a diploma in Business Administration (Accounting). She joined us in June 2023 and is responsible for managing the day-to-day finance operations as well as all accounting records and reports. Amina liases with government offices and helps address any concerns and ensure Neema House remains in compliance with regulations. She works in connection with the Business Officer to keep all financial records up to date. She also manages the needs of the office to help things continue running smoothly.
MJ, Maisha Matters Social Worker
MJ (Mussa Japhary), is our Maisha Matters Social Worker. He facilitates the weekly trainings, visits every family at home to assess the home environment and level of need, and liaises with hospitals and nutritionists for new referrals. He also helps connect all Maisha Matters kids with necessary medical testing, specialist referrals, and health insurance, as needed. MJ works with our nurse and Business Administrator to create a holistic approach of support for each individual child.
Lameck Luvinga, Neema House Social Worker
Luvinga is the social worker for the children at Neema House. He works with social welfare for all children placed and discharged from our home. He searches for relatives of all children who are placed and, if found, works toward plans for reunification. If there are no relatives, he works with the commissioner's office to identify adoptive families. Luvinga completes follow-up home visits monthly for every child that is reunified. He also works with our nurse to ensure all the medical appointments for children at Neema House, particularly any that must regularly attend the HIV or TB clinic, are completed.
Agnes magendela, Administration & Business Officer
Agnes has a Bachelor in Business Administration. She started working as the Finance Administration and Business Officer for Neema House in April 2020. In this position, Agnes works as one of the accountants for all Neema House Tanzania operations. However, Agnes also spends much of her time doing home visits and working with the Maisha Matters families to discuss their financial situation and possibile business opportunities for the sustainability of their family. When needed, Agnes assists families with business-start ups and completes follow ups to offer support and encouragement for their ongoing success.
Monica Mathias, Health Worker
Monica started at Neema House as a childcare worker but was quickly promoted to a Supervisor because of her strong work ethic and commitment to the children. After discovering that Monica has a Certificate in Nursing, she was promoted a Nurse / Health Worker for all of our programs. She received additional medical training from a Physician's Assistant from America who spent a year at Neema House. Monica oversees the health needs of all children in our residential care facility as well as through our outreach programs. She is passionate about advocating for the needs of children and educating caregivers on health and nutritional needs of their children.
Leticia Jiteleja, office & education assistant
Leticia has worked at Neema House since 2018 as a child caregiver. She was promoted to the position of Office and Education Assistant in April 2023. Leticia spends her mornings teaching in our preschool classroom and works in the afternoons to help maintain Life Books on every child, keep photos up-to-date, and create a unique curriculum to educate Neema House children on life skills, fine motor development, and critical thinking skills in order to better prepare them for school in the future.
Greyson Nelson, Human Resources Officer
Greyson has a Bachelor Degree in Law and is passionate about child rights, improving policies and procedures, and training staff. He joined Neema House in June 2023 and is working to address staff issues, update policies and procedures, coordinate schedules, and formalize regular trainings for staff. Greyson also enjoys spending time with the children at Neema House, playing and interacting with them while also observing the functions of the home to make suggestions for improvements.
We employ over 40 employees including our caregivers, cooks, social workers, health educator, accountants, other office staff, & security guards. All employees receive a salary, social security, health insurance, annual leave, and regular trainings.
