Our People
Meet the People Behind the Work
Nicky Jarman
Project Director
Nicky qualified as a Teacher of the deaf in 1984 and has worked with deaf children and children with additional and complex needs since that time.
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She decided to visit Tanzania with her mother after her mother had travelled to remote parts of Tanzania for several years. She immediately fell in love with the Maasai people of the area from then onwards.
Nicky went on to lead the set up of the charity and now works full time on The Mud House Children’s Foundation whilst living with her family in a small village in Hampshire.
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Hannah Povey
Project Development Manager
Hannah is a recent addition to the Mud House team, but has been a long-time supporter of the charity.
Along with being a sponsor of one of our children, Hannah has been out to Tanzania three times, one of which was a 6 week stay. Having been able to integrate fully within the community, Hannah has a real insight to the lives there, especially thanks to her work within the schools; teaching and decorating.
Hannah fell in love with the people of this rural region from her first trip and is extremely driven to making a positive difference to their lives through the work of our charity. With experience in sales, travel and managing her own business, Hannah brings energy, enthusiasm and new ideas.
Rob Jarman
Trustee (Chair)
Rob served 30 years as a police officer with Hampshire Constabulary, making his way through the ranks to Superintendent operating in both uniform and CID roles. In 2008, he was elected by his peers to serve as their Regional Chair of the national Superintendents Association of England & Wales and received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to national policing in 2011. He was then appointed the first Hampshire Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner(2013-2016).
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Rob studied Law at Southampton University between 1992-95 and more recently secured a Masters in Applied Criminology from the University of Cambridge.
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Rob has been involved with our charity from the outset. He has visited the remote Tanzanian area several times and witnessed the positive impact our charity is achieving, especially for the young Maasai children, who without our support, would not receive any formal education.
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Rob enjoys spending time with his family, reading, walking, travel, drinking real ale and watching sport, especially international rugby and cricket.
Alyson Ryan
Trustee
Alyson’s career included organising large travel projects and conferences around the world and latterly as a self-employed administrator for the hotel industry group of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Aly has been instrumental in helping Nicky with the charity since its inception, visiting Tanzania in 2017 to meet the children first hand.
Jim Culverwell
Trustee
Jim joined the board in 2016, inspired by the enthusiasm of the Mudhouse children, to learn; by the determination of this marginalised and impoverished people, to better themselves; and by the strength and complexity of the Maasai culture.
Keen that charities should see themselves as businesses, Jim uses his 25 years’ experience of running his own small business and of professional engagement with SMEs and the Charity sector, to further the rigour and accountability within TMHCF; as well as bringing a wealth of connections within the Hampshire business community, to support the work of the charity.
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Gaynor Mckeown
Trustee
Gaynor joined the board in 2020, she is an independent management consultant with over 20 years of experience working in the 3rd sector.
Gaynor has extensive experience in the Criminal Justice field and is a recognised EU expert in Restorative justice and Gender Inequality. Gaynor is excited at the opportunity to work with the charity to support fundraising and income generation and safeguarding. She is looking forward to visiting Tanzania to see the projects at work.
Gaynor lives with her husband and 2 daughters in North Wales and enjoys reading, cooking, walking, motor homing, and travelling.
Bid Culverwell
Trustee
Bid graduated from the University of Bath with a Masters in Chemistry and is currently working in Bristol as a business analyst for a IT-based service partner who specialise in the delivery of bespoke digital solutions.
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Bid has been involved with the charity as a volunteer for a number of years and hopes to bring a fresh perspective to the charity whilst supporting growth of new initiatives such as the Mud House Club.
Helen Culverwell
Trustee
Helen had her arm twisted in 2015 to become a trustee and is so happy to have agreed, only later realising how much being involved in this very small but incredibly proactive charity, would change her life.
Having been a trustee for a year and helping on the admin side of the charity, which is her background, she was keen to visit Tanzania to see for herself the work that the charity does, on the ground.
That opportunity came in 2016 and she completely fell in love with the amazing Maasai people, their culture and their determination to educate their children.
Titian Fleming
Trustee
Titian spent 17 years as Chairman of one of the fund raising groups for Naomi House, the children's hospice near Winchester and was delighted to become a Trustee of the Mud House Children's Foundation.
It's really inspirational to see how much the work of the charity is changing the educational prospects - and therefore the lives - of some of the poorest Maasai children in the Wasso area. Even a small amount of money makes a huge difference to these children
Jan Earney
Trustee
Jan is a retired Teacher and Headteacher. Little did she know how much her life would change when she visited our charity stall at Selborne Village Hall.
"I stopped at the stall where Nicky and Sylvia were selling African things because both my children had been in East Africa doing voluntary service during their gap years and the bright colours caught my eye. We got talking and the rest is history.
I have now been out with the charity to Wasso many times, working with the teachers at our sponsored childrens' schools. The aim is to grow and develop the teaching so that our children get the best possible education. I love the opportunity to use my knowledge and skills from a lifetime as a Teacher and Headteacher in the UK to help the teachers over there. They are so keen and welcome me with open hearts and arms. My aim now is to source enough funding to support those young people who want to go on beyond Secondary Education."