MOAC Staffing Announcement: Ilda Guambe
News
The Office of Finance and Administration is pleased to announce that Ilda Guambe has accepted a full-time position as Evaluation and Learning Specialist.“Ilda will be working in Finance and Administration with particular emphasis on the Mozambique Initiative,” said Director of Finance and Administrative Ministries Nate Berneking. “Her employment is really intended to round out her education that she’s completed at Missouri Western University [in St. Joseph]. We are thrilled that the U.S. allows for the extension of a student visa for exactly this sort of situation. Her education and past experience makes her uniquely qualified to help us with the Mozambique Initiative in the Office of Financial and Administrative Ministries.”
In this role, she will be assessing and approving Mozambique Initiative (MI) projects as well as analysis of completed projects. This analysis will help ensure the Conference is able to capture quantitative metrics in addition to stories.
"Ilda's unique skills and experience in non-profit work in Mozambique make her ideal for this role,” said Rev. Lucas Endicott, Sr. Mission Strategist in the Office of Mission, Service and Justice. “She will not only strengthen the ongoing work of MI, but she will sharpen insights both in Mozambique and Missouri as we seek mutuality in our partnership."
Ilda Suzana Massuanganhe Guambe holds a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Missouri Western State University and a bachelor´s degree in Management and Administration from Africa University in Zimbabwe. In 2014, she was a Mandela Washington Fellow for Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) where she had the opportunity to address her own story at the Africa-USA First ladies’ Summit held in Washington D.C. You can watch her presentation about her work here at the US-Africa Leaders Summit from a broadcast on C-SPAN. Ilda is fluent in English and Portuguese and speaks five more Mozambican languages.
Her 14 years of experience in managing community based projects, NGO´s, private sector and civil society organizations as well as experience working with embassies in development agencies, has helped bring change in people´s lives, especially the less fortunate in rural areas. Raised in the Christian community, she leads and interacts with different youth and young women’s groups, training them on drug abuse, diseases such as HIV/AIDS, vocational training, women´s health, sustainable projects, counselling and participating in different committees advocating for women’s rights, girl child education as well as peace and justice in different sectors.
Ilda hopes to share her professional experience and improving her skills with the Missouri Conference. She also hopes to leverage her skills learning from different colleagues, with diverse cultures and different backgrounds, and above all, share the spiritual and cultural strengths that binds the Mozambique and Missouri Conferences.
Born in a family of nine, Ilda is the first girl in her family to earn a degree. She is married to Rev. Naftal Naftal. Together, they have three handsome boys and live in Keytesville, a small town about one hour north of Columbia. She enjoys cooking, baking, reading and travelling.