Women on a mission, proudly part of the solution

The Foundation 4 Hope is a non-profit organisation funded by donations and private enterprise. We focus on projects that directly impact women but have a ripple effect on families and communities.

Meet our founding member

Fiona Christelis

Born and raised in South Africa, as an adult I had the privilege of travelling the world. This opened my eyes to different lifestyles, cultures, religious beliefs and ideologies.

Having spent the last thirty years working in hospitals and the service industry I had the privilege of now being able to engage in projects working with communities, especially women, enabling them in various endeavours.

Arriving in Rwanda- the land of a thousand hills, I was inspired by the spirit of the people going about their daily activities. The minute you arrive in Rwanda you have a sense of expectation, struggle for a better future and the hope of new beginnings. It was here I knew there was great opportunity.

I started the Amizero project where we trained 40 women to graduation. Thereafter 20 ladies went into production of goods suitable for retail.

I remain inspired by each lady who I have had the pleasure of meeting giving me hope for future projects.

Vanessa Mc Jarrow

Living in Johannesburg, South Africa I’ve had the privilege of working in the Service Industry.

My main focus as an ERP Certified Senior Functional Consultant, involved in upgrading, implementing, training and support across industries.

This has given me the opportunity to be part of a team working towards a common goal.

A few words I leave you with….

“At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished… it’s about who you’ve lifted, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.” ― Denzel Washington

Arina McDonald

Arina is a professional banker and businesswomen with diverse skills and experience in both South Africa and Internationally.

Arina is a qualified Chartered Accountant (SA) and worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in both SA and London. She specialized in international taxation, with a focus on tax matters relating to banking and financial services clients. She worked for Goldman Sachs in London after returning to SA in 2002, joining the Standard Bank Group where she worked for 13 years.

Arina’s initial focus in Standard Bank was on taxation, and later worked within the Investment Banking Acquisition & Debt Advisory Services team. She also has mergers & acquisition experience and for five years, was the CFO for the Standard Bank Group’s African businesses with 17 country representation across the African continent. In 2014, Arina assumed the role as CFO for Atlas Mara Limited, a new banking group that was set up to strategically focus on becoming the premier financial services institution in sub-Sahara Africa.

Arina relocated back to South Africa during 2017 to spend more time with her family. Since then, she has been involved in some corporate advisory roles and a board governance position where she believes she can add value.

Arina has a strong focus on good corporate governance, regulatory compliance, instilling a corporate social responsibility framework where a real difference can be made by businesses in the markets they operate within. She also has board experience having served on different boards including Zambia, Nigeria and Botswana.

Arina is strong commercially orientated, has sound analytical and numeracy skills, believes to drive performance whether financial or operational and believes in an inclusive team approach in delivering through people. Teamwork to her is a key success factor to accomplish successful outcomes. She is a natural leader and passionate about people, with good negotiation skills, and able to work across all levels of the organizational hierarchy.

UPLIFT INSPIRE CHANGE

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“…You educate a woman; you educate a generation.”

Brigham Young

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