Our People
Meet the People Behind the Work
Nicky Jarman
Projects Director
Nicky qualified as a Teacher of the deaf in 1984 and worked with deaf children and children and pre-school children with additional and complex needs until she left work in 2014.
Nicky visited Wasso in Northern Tanzania with her mother in 2012, after her mother had been travelling to this remote part of Tanzania for several years. Nicky immediately fell in love with the Maasai people and went on to lead the setting up of the charity. She is now Projects Director for The Mud House Children’s Foundation and lives with her family in a small village in Hampshire. She visits Tanzania at least once a year to oversee the many projects carried out by the charity.
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Gaynor Mckeown
Trustee (Chair)
Gaynor joined the board in 2020; she is an independent management consultant with over 20 years’ 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 about the opportunity to work with the charity to support fundraising, 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.
Rob Jarman
Trustee (Vice 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).
Rob studied Law at Southampton University between 1992-95 and more recently secured a Master's in Applied Criminology from the University of Cambridge.
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. Rob has visited Wasso many times, most recently in March 2025.
Rob enjoys spending time with his family, reading, walking, travelling, drinking real ale and watching sport, especially international rugby and cricket.
Jan Earney
Trustee
What began as a chance visit to Selborne Village Hall's Christmas market in 2016 proved to be life-changing for Jan. After stopping at a stall run by Nicky and Sylvia selling Maasai jewellery, she learned about the charity's work in Wasso, Tanzania, and was immediately inspired by its mission.
Since then, Jan has travelled to Wasso on numerous occasions and became a Trustee in 2017. She is passionate about supporting the charity's work to strengthen teaching and learning, helping to ensure children in Wasso receive the best possible education. Drawing on the knowledge and experience gained throughout her career in England, she works alongside local teachers, whose enthusiasm and commitment continue to inspire her.
Jan is particularly committed to creating opportunities for young people to continue their education beyond school. She is passionate about securing funding to support students who aspire to attend college or university, helping them to realise their full potential.
Patti Snook
Trustee
After working in the travel industry for several years, Patti trained as a primary school teacher and worked in several primary schools in Surrey and Hampshire.
In 2010, she became the headteacher of Bushy Leaze Children and Families Centre, a pre-school nursery for mainstream and SEN children. She had a close relationship with the children, the teachers, and the staff.
In the last few years, Patti has been a big supporter of The Mud House Children’s Foundation. Once she retired as a Headteacher in 2020, she found a new passion, visiting the Maasai in Wasso and integrating into the Maasai community, becoming a valuable member of the Mud House team. In 2024, Patti became a Trustee and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the board.
Patti believes passionately in the importance of education to improve lives.
Briony Cooper
Trustee
Briony spent most of her career working for the NHS. She has a Speech and Language degree/Masters degree and specialised in supporting deaf children and their families in the development of communication skills. Latterly, she led projects focusing on governance systems.
Briony was initially involved with the charity as a volunteer before becoming a trustee in 2024. She has visited Tanzania several times and has seen first-hand the positive impact the charity is having in supporting Maasai children in education.
Dominic Fludger
Trustee
Dom has supported the charity and sponsored a child for over 7 years. He visited Loliondo and Wasso in Tanzania in 2020 and loved the country, especially the warm, kind Maasai people and their zest for life.
Having joined as a Trustee in 2024, he hopes to bring fresh perspectives to the organisation and ensure the children continue to access life-changing education.
Alyson Ryan
Treasurer
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.
Sylvia Goodall MBE
Patron
Sylvia began visiting Tanzania over twenty years ago, enjoying her hobby as an amateur photographer. In October 2006, there was a chance meeting between Sylvia and a Tanzanian teacher called Otilia.
Sylvia took a photograph of Otilia with her little baby boy; they immediately hit it off and exchanged addresses. They started writing to each other, and in March 2007, Sylvia went to stay with Otilia and her family in Wasso.
From that time, Sylvia began sponsoring children to go to school and supporting the local communities with activities such as taking out books, teaching them English, teaching them how to sew and how to use solar for electricity. This was the beginning of a long and successful relationship between the Goodall family and the Swahili and Maasai communities in Wasso and Loliondo.
In 2014, Sylvia was instrumental in setting up the charity to formalise the work which had been carried out informally.
In April 2023, we were very proud when Sylvia was awarded an MBE for her contribution to education overseas.
Sir Alan Grose KBE
and Lady Gillian Grose
Patron
Vice Admiral Sir Alan Grose KBE is a former Royal Navy officer who became Flag Officer, Plymouth. He retired from the navy in 1992. Following his retirement, he and Lady Grose moved to Lady Grose’s family home near Cape Town.
They have been supporters of the charity from the outset and have invaluable insight and knowledge of East Africa, as Lady Grose is South African.
We were very honoured when, in 2018, they agreed to become Patrons of our charity and to formalise their support.
Salome Nassei* and Mathew Nassei
*Maasai Manager
Salome and Mathew were both brought up in a traditional Maasai culture. From an early age, they realised the importance of gaining an education. Despite the many challenges and the objections that they faced from their families, they succeeded in gaining college and university qualifications. At the height of his career, Mathew became District Commissioner in the Ngorongoro, and Salome owned a shop and ran her own successful business selling Maasai craft.
Salome and her husband Mathew play a vital part in the success of the charity. Salome began working full time for the charity in 2014.
Salome provides the daily bridge between Nicky in the UK and the general day-to-day running of the charity in Tanzania, whilst Mathew provides strategic support and advice on all matters related to Maasai and African cultures.
He is now retired and spends his days looking after his farm, which provides fresh vegetables, fruit, eggs, milk and chicken to our sponsored children.
Otilia Issuja
Friend of the Charity
Otilia Issuja (Sylvia’s first friend in 2006) has earned a university degree, built a successful teaching career, and is now the Head Teacher of Mama Sylvia’s Primary School in Njorietti Maasai village.
Lubuva
Friend of the Charity
Lubuva, our building manager, is responsible for the success of our two boreholes and water wells, the building of the classrooms and dining hall at Mama Sylvia’s school, installing 84 chimneys into the mud houses and building all of the playgrounds in the Wasso and Loliondo area.
Lerionka
Friend of the Charity
Lerionka met Nicky in 2012 when he was the cook at Wasso Primary School. From that moment, they became firm friends. Nicky soon discovered that he was well educated and spoke fluent English.
He now works full time for the charity as Salome’s right-hand Maasai and is the provider of fun and laughter, often in the face of adversity.
Lissa
Friend of the Charity
Our catering manager, who takes such good care of the staff, volunteers and the children.
Our Hostel Team
