The Team

Erin discovered her passion for people while attending Westminster College where she is currently pursuing a B.A. in Economics and B.A. in International Business. She first visited Kenya with the Global Outreach Alliance during the summer of 2010 where she fell in love with sustainable development. Erin works to better the lives of those around her by teaching yoga, working as a Service Leader for the Center for Civic Engagement, acting as a co-founder for the RHANDS GOLD student group and an advocate for the Food Alliance, all at Westminster College. She also serves as a Development Chair and Research Assistant for RHANDS, a research based non-profit organization. Erin spends her spare time skiing, biking, hiking, camping, figure-skating, reading, and playing guitar. She dreams of completing her doctorate in development economics and would like to pursue a career as professor one day. Her greatest joy is building relationships with our friends abroad and she looks forward to exploring new countries and meeting new people for many years to come!

Growing up as a child in a military family abroad, Jenn developed a passion and interest in diversity, culture, and service. These experiences sparked a desire to make a positive difference in the lives of others in the world. After earning a degree in Social Work, she started several programs in her community to improve the lives of the impoverished and underserved. In 2009, Jenn’s life took a dramatic turn after a trip to Kenya that sparked an unquenchable desire to reach out to those in need in Africa. As a result, she started projects in Kenya: The Do Something Project, which matches sponsors with orphans, widows, and teachers and The 34sisters Artist Collaborative, which enables women in a community in Kenya and Uganda to make and sell beads, paintings, and textile goods in Kenya/Uganda and in the United States. She currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the Kinship North Mentoring Program, and is a social worker for Evergreen Youth and Family Services.

Jack is a master in leading team expeditions through some of China’s most remote areas. His love and passion for this mysterious and rich culture of Tibet and Sichuan Province are severely contagious. He has been a licensed tour guide since 1998 after graduating from Sichuan University, China. His profession has allowed him to immerse himself deep into uncharted areas, befriending poverty-stricken communities, identifying needs, and finding solutions on the ground level. Jack has explored China’s most isolated and far-flung destinations and remote communities. To this day, however, Tibet and China’s Sichuan Province (comprised largely of Tibetan nomads) remains his destination of choice to serve and work. The beautiful religious customs, friendly people, massive holy snow mountains, colorful prayer flags, unique dress, and mystic mountain lakes are a few of the reasons this area remains close to his heart. Says Jack: “The people of Tibet need help and support in their communities. Come and lend a hand with me. Come and you’ll experience a fairyland on earth…a place where you can forget all your troubles and become immersed in service and untainted culture….a place where your heart will be purified.”

Seiha is a living, breathing example of the resilience and determination of the wonderful Khmer people to overcome adversity, having experienced the atrocities of the Pol Pot Regime through the account of his mother and relatives. He has become an expert on the history and culture of the Khmer society. From a young age as the leader of the Cambodian Puppet Show Group for Development, he has traveled to all provinces to teach poor and remote Khmer school children about hygiene. In addition, he has traveled extensively to educate his people on sanitation, water purification, and proper care of food. He served a two-year volunteer mission for his Church among the Khmer people. He notes: “My people are very proud of their country—and they deserve to be after centuries of conflict and war. We have come out of it all with a very kind and sweet disposition and look forward to meeting the people of the world that want to see and serve in the Kingdom of Wonder: Cambodia.”

The first thing most people notice about Moses Mukhabeh is his warm, beaming smile. He is quick to invite volunteers to serve with him for the betterment of the local people and to enjoy the beauty of Uganda. Moses is the Founder and Executive Director of an organization focused on the planning and implementation of sustainable agriculture programs for rural Uganda villages. He also currently works for Bududa Community Development Initiative (BCDI), a local community-based organization that provides hope through education to children. Moses explains: “Due to the impoverished community I come from which has been characterized by its abundance of difficulties such as landslides, HIV/AIDS, extreme poverty, lack of jobs, war, and malaria . . . I have chosen to devote my life as an advocate for change, to work to generate awareness and solve local problems.”

Moses Mapesa Musasia was born in a small village, Emuhurwi, Kenya to loving parents who taught him the value of service and education. By the time he was in the sixth grade, his mother had passed away from a rare illness and his father died after suffering a stroke. For a time, he was left to fend for himself. One of his father’s close friends offered to support Moses and raise him as his own child giving him the chance to go back to school and receive the education his parents had dreamed of. He graduated from grade 12 and saved money from horticultural farming to fund his college education. He is one of only a handful of college graduates from his village. He has taught primary school and currently works on development and humanitarian projects. He is happily married to his beautiful wife, Beatrice and they have three children. Despite his numerous professional endeavors, he also provides 100 orphans and destitute children with food and education. Moses sums up his experience in this way: “I thank God I grew up a poor boy, but through hard work, He has been able to lift me to a higher level.”