Project Coordination Team

Dr. Rasel Madaha

Rasel serves as the President of AGEN-USA Inc, as well as Executive Director of AGEN (he also serves as the website administrator to keep up and update it). He can be reached at rasel.madaha@agentz.org Rasel’s detailed CV can be accessed here.

As a lecturer at the Sokoine University of Agriculture located at Morogoro (click here), Tanzania, Rasel has been serving as the Departmental Chair of the Website Content Committee in the Department of Agricultural Extension and Community Development and Representatives to College of Agriculture Website Content Committee of Sokoine University of Agriculture since July 2020. He has enabled the Department to rise to the best of all academic departments in terms of website ranking at the university. Prior to that, he served as the Departmental Chair of the Undergraduate Studies Committee and Representatives to the College of Agriculture Undergraduate Studies Committee from July 2017 to July 2020. He facilitated the review and eventual approval of the curricula for BSc. Applied Agricultural Extension, and Bachelor of Community Development. The review led to increased enrolment of undergraduate students in the department from around 50 students prior to 2019 to nearly 500 students in 2020. Rasel has a career as an academician, researcher, author, consultant, and not-for-profit entrepreneur. As a researcher, academician, and author, Rasel has been engaging in multidisciplinary action research, social experiments, cross-sectional surveys, and ethnography since 2007. He authors over 12 articles (as a single author), published in refereed international journals and as chapters in international peer-review books. He is a recipient of several academic grants, which have enabled him to share his research findings in over 30 international conferences across countries located in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, West Africa, South Africa, and East Africa. Rasel has expertise in community development, gender and development, development economics, rural development, African studies, social anthropology, political economy, and agricultural extension. Rasel holds a Ph.D. in Development Studies from the University of Dar es salaam. He also holds two Masters Degrees, which are MA Global Gender Studies of the State University of New York, USA, and MA Rural Development of Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania. He also holds a BSc. in Agricultural Education and Extension of Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania, and a Diploma in Education from Morogoro Teachers’ College, Tanzania. Rasel has served as faculty for several higher learning institutions since 2007. As of 2014, he has been serving as a lecturer at Sokoine University of Agriculture located in Morogoro, Tanzania. He has supervised dissertations of over five postgraduate students (or graduate students) and has taught more than 10,000 undergraduate students in his areas of specialization. He holds membership in some reputable regional and international professional associations.

As a consultant and a not-for-profit entrepreneur, he has been engaging in the not-for-profit industry in Africa and the United States of America since 1996. He has developed a grassroots microfinance model that has been empowering grassroots entrepreneurs since 2011. He has also gained a national and international reputation by undertaking over 30 consultancy assignments for seven international NGOs and five local national NGOs. Professional consultancy services have been offered to reputable international not-for-profit NGOs such as fhi360 (Family Health International), German Agency for International Cooperation (GTZ), AFRICARE, and Norwegian Church Aid (NCA). He has also served as an employee of reputable international not-for-profit organizations such as the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and World Vision. He has also offered services to national not-for-profits such as Tanzania Gender Networking Program (TGNP), Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), Village Community Banks (VICOBA) Federation of Tanzania in Tanzania as well as Jewish Family Services in New York, USA. The not-for-profits are located in both the Global South and Global North. Rasel is the founder of the Tanzania Chapter of the scaleWAYS- East Africa Community of Practice (CoP) with the support from the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), the Lake Victoria Basin Commission of the East African Community (LVBC), the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), and Austrian Development Cooperation.

Finally, Rasel, with excellent command of both English and Kiswahili languages, is a recipient of several prestigious awards including Fulbright, Champion of Women Economic Development for the year 2012, and the American Political Science Professional Development Award (two times). He has won several travel grants to present his work across the world. Rasel is married to Happy Faith Madaha. He has three daughters whose names are Miriam, Mariana, and Rachelmaria, and one son whose name is Justine.

Email: rasel.madaha@agentz.org

Dr. Juhi Roy

Originally from Bihar/Jharkhand in India, Juhi Roy started her career as a very young teacher in a private school due to financial difficulties faced by her family by the sudden demise of her father. Both her and her sibling tutored and taught at educational institutions to support their small household and at the same time tried to complete their necessary education. Later she worked for non-profits at the grassroots and policy level as well.  She paved her path to the United States on an International Institute of Education(FFF)Fellowship and acquired her PhD (International Development) at University at Buffalo. She teaches courses on human rights, gender,environment, social change, health and poverty. Her interest area in research includes, gender poverty, human rights, health, environment,labor and policy. She represented GSEU/CWA as President for University at Buffalo for several terms.She actively participates in community service and other non profit events.

Juhi serves as Vice President- Gender Empowerment for AGEN-USA Inc.

Email: juhi.roy@agentz.org and juhiroy@gmail.com

Divine Muragijimana

Divine Muragijimana, a Burundian native, is a Marketing Strategist and Events Development consultant who has also dedicated her life to training and investing in young African leaders. Currently, Ms. Muragijimana is also the president of The Council of Young African Leaders (The CYAL) and organization she co-founded with Okenfe Lebarty in 2011. Concurrently, she serves as Editor-in-chief of Applause Africa, a magazine whose mission is to bring news to the African community in the Diaspora, and put Africans and African initiatives at the forefront. Over the last 5 years, Ms. Muragijimana has been working with an extensive network of African organizations and African Businesses including nurturing and advising student organizations across the United States. While she enjoys her work in marketing and event planning, Ms. Muragijimana driving force is her love for Africa and appreciation of the political process and the role it plays in African societies.

 Ms. Muragijimana is also a strong advocate for women’s rights and youth empowerment with a specialization in post-conflict zones in Africa. She now holds a BA in Liberal Arts from Malone University and Masters in Urban Policy and Administration from CUNY Brooklyn College. “My mother used to tell me that the strength of Africa and its greatest wealth is its people. It was not until I was almost done with my undergraduate studies that I saw the wisdom in her words. The African people are Africa’s greatest resource, and my life mission is develop as much of this resource as possible, because I strongly believe that together, we can see Africa move beyond the first frontier into a new horizon”. Ms. Muragijimana now serves as Vice President- United States of America Operations and Vice President- Administration and Finance for AGEN-USA Inc to oversee global operations.

Email: divine.muragijimana@agentz.org

Enock Pingu

I am Enock Gwanchele Pingu. I hold a Bachelor of Community Development of Sokoinne University of Agriculture (SUA). I specialize on community development (empowering, mobilization, organization, advocacy and lobbying), sociology, anthropology, psychology, community, computer science, financial management (marketing, entrepreneurship, project planning, evaluation monitoring and appraisal) and administration and interpersonal skills. I have a great ambition to support community living in hash conditions. I have participated several capacity building trainings including project management, gender empowerment, proposal development, agro ecology, and national building army. I conducted my field attachment at Mbuyuni ward in Morogoro municipality. I offered training and professional counselling to the disadvantage group on education, gender, group formation, and entrepreneurship. I serve as Senior Project Coordinator for AGEN response for overseeing all projects and programs.

Email. enock.pingu@agentz.org

Anjelina Abeli Mpina

 I am Anjelina Abeli Mpina. I hold a Bachelor of Community Development of Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). I specialize on Gender; community development, Community organization and mobilization; Advocacy and lobbing; Conflict management and resolution; Project management and planning; and Adult learning. Other skills include: computer: Excellent in MS-Office, Internet, E-mail and MS-Power Point; Organization, Planning and Coordination; Decision Making; communication,  Interpersonal; and leadership skill. I serve as Project Coordinator for AGEN response for overseeing gender empowerment.

Email: anjelina.mpina@agentz.org

Irigo Fahamuel Onesmo 

FAHAMUEL holds B.sc. Information and record management. He has expertise on information and record management. He can manage information and record from creation to disposal. He had his practical training on management of physical and electronic records at the Sokoine National Agricultural Library (SNAL) for a year. He also served as a record officer at the college of Veterinary medicine of Sokoine University of Agriculture SUA for six weeks. He has strong skills on information technology, desktop design, web design, database design, legal issue, copyright and infringement, and land records.  He has been serving as a Project Coordinator overseeing Information and record management at AGEN since 1st July 2023.

Detailed Specialization and Expertise

  1. Research: Participatory Action Research (PAR); Social Science Research Methodology and Methods; Quantitative and Qualitative Multi-Method Research; ethnography
  2. Economics: Social economics, Development Economics; market economy; Agricultural economics; financial management, economic appraisal, entrepreneurship and cooperative
  3. Political Science: political concept skill leadership and group formation, administrative and interpersonal skill
  4. Technology: computer application ,information searching, and statistical application on the community
  5. Education: Elementary Education,and social education, extension method education and  interpersonal skill communication education

Email: irigo.onesmo@agentz.org

Semshitu Amiri Zapare

My name is Semshitu Amiri Zapare. I am a passionate community development professional with a Bachelor’s degree in the field, specializing in participatory project planning and management. I am driven by a strong commitment to inclusive development, ensuring that all members of a community have the opportunity to participate in and benefit from development initiatives. Apart from working as an academician at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), I serve as Project Coordinator at AGEN overseeing participatory project planning and management at AGEN.

My core areas of interest include:

Gender equality: I believe in creating projects that empower women and address gender disparities within communities. Sustainability: I am committed to designing and implementing projects that are environmentally and socially responsible, ensuring their long-term impact. Participatory approaches: I value engaging communities in every step of the development process, from needs assessment to project implementation and evaluation. I am eager to leverage my skills and experience to contribute to positive change and build thriving communities to bring about sustainable development.

Email: semshitu.zapare@sua.ac.tz and semshitu.zapare@agentz.org

Japhet Stanley

Japhet Stanley serves as Project Coordinator for AGEN overseeing youth empowerment projects. Japhet holds Bachelor of Community Development of Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). During his studies at SUA, Japhet served as a secretary for the Community Development Association (CDA). CDA is a Youth organization bringing university students specializing in the practice and profession of community development. He also made important innervations targeting women and Youth saving groups in Morogoro Municipal Council as part of practical training. Japhet serves as Community Based Trainer (CBT) under KIJANA NAHODHA Project. The project is implemented by Care International with the aim of empowering Youth who are not at school. Furthermore, he is proficiency in Swahili, Kisukuma, and English languages. He is work and result oriented with great patient to work with marginalized communities.

Email: japhet.stanley@agentz.org

Annastazia Peter Marcel

Annastazia Peter Marcel serves as Project Coordinator overseeing advocacy, lobbying, networking, and fundraising. She is an experienced Community Development Professional with work history in municipalities, cities, or neighborhoods. She helps promote growth, vitality, and health in the area of community citizenship. She has worked with a number of projects focusing on social service agencies, non-profit organizations, and financial institutions to help strengthen the disadvantaged and under-developed communities. She explores proactive and reactive work in Community Development, utilizing her key skills in partnership, consultation, engagement, networking, project management and capacity building- supporting local organizations and residents to identity issues, needs and solutions to improve their communities.

Email: annastazia.marcel@agentz.org