Our Moon is a UK-based grassroots charity on a mission to boost social mobility in Zambia. We're registered with the Charity Commission in the UK (1165083) and the Ministry of Community Development in Zambia (RNGO 101/0688/17.
Our Story
Co-founded by Helen Leale-Green and Justin Mushitu in 2016
Our Moon started as a conversation between a teacher and a student. After a discussion one evening, Justin — a student at the time — came to Helen with a proposition: to make an impact in Zambia using Helen's skills, knowledge and contacts and Justin's lived experience of poverty.
Since then, Our Moon has gone from strength to strength. We've gone from simply supporting students at a government boarding school to building a programme outside of traditional curriculums. Not only do our programmes develop dialogue, critical thinking, self-exploration and presentation skills, but we give our students the exposure they need outside of their home communities before going to university.
Starting with our Young Leaders programme, we now boast five programmes aimed at developing young people at different stages of their academic and working lives.
Our Moon doesn't just support the next generation of future leaders. We're one of the largest employers in the area, hiring members of the local community to carry out building maintenance, construction work, garden landscaping and more.
We've also introduced a volunteering programme that gives unemployable individuals of working age the valuable skills and experience they need to generate capital in their communities.
What we believe
Our Values
As a grassroots charity, community is at the core of everything we do.
🦁
Courageous
Being bold in thoughts and actions
💡
Curious
Creating curious, independent, critical thinkers
🤝
Community
Empowering socially-conscious youth
👥
Collaborative
Valuing both the individual and the team in universal systems
🎯
Commitment
Developing responsibilty and accountability for our actions
Our Team
The people behind the mission in Zambia
Justin Mushitu
Country Director
Justin has studied in the UK (where he met Helen) and Canada. On returning to Zambia, he started working for Our Moon. Justin is passionate about education and giving opportunities to the less advantaged. He is responsible for managing our work and programmes in Zambia.
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Ntasuwila Nambao
Programme Manager
Ntasuwila has a degree in Agronomy from a Chinese university. She is a fluent Mandarin speaker, loves working on the land and reading good literature. She has worked as a private tutor. "I thought impact was mainly about numbers but now I realise that by impacting a few in a positive and life-changing way, the ripple effect can be enormous."
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Malama Mushitu
Student Welfare Officer
Malama is responsible for taking photos and videos of the students and various onsite activities at the NGO. Passionate about capturing details, he skillfully edits the footage to ensure high-quality visual content. His dedication to storytelling through visuals helps to highlight the NGO's impact and bring its projects to life.
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UK Leadership
Our leadership team in the UK
Helen Leale-Green
Founder, CEO and Trustee
Helen worked for PwC before becoming a trustee and volunteer for an international development charity. She co-founded Our Moon in 2016 with her former student, Justin. Helen sits on Exco of HALI Access Network and has an MA in Education and International Development from UCL.
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Trustees
Our board of trustees
Dhruv Sarda
Chair of Trustees
Dhruv is a Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal. He spent over 17 years living in Zambia and has been supporting Our Moon since 2021. Dhruv is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and King's College London.
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Alan Leale-Green
Trustee and Treasurer
Alan has over 40 years of experience in the securities and futures industries. Running his own compliance consultancy business, he gained a wealth of experience in financial, risk and corporate governance matters. Alan also volunteers for the Citizens Advice Bureau.
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Funmi Akinluyi
Trustee
Funmi is an experienced sustainable infrastructure and capital markets professional with over 20 years of expertise in sustainable investing and sustainable finance. She specialises in climate transition and sustainable infrastructure financing across emerging and developed markets. Passionate about Africa, she is also dedicated to teaching children and young adults about financial literacy.
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Richard Bowen
Trustee
Rich works in Risk Assurance for PwC, where he specialises in technology, risk and governance. He studied Economics and Politics at Cardiff University and has been supporting Our Moon since 2019. Rich is passionate about economic development and believes education is a key factor for stimulating growth.
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Quincy Namonje
Trustee
Quincy is an alumna of Our Moon's Young Leaders Programme, Class of 2018. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a degree in Economics in 2023. She is passionate about expanding educational opportunities in Zambia, demonstrated through her continued support of Our Moon and her work with Scholars of Hope, a Zambian community charity providing learning materials to vulnerable children across the Copperbelt and other rural communities.
Professionally, Quincy aspires to contribute to Zambia's economic development through public policy implementation, with a particular focus on restoring and strengthening the country's credit reputation. This ambition has been solidified by her experience as a Debt Analyst at BlackRock. In Sep'26, Quincy began her Master's in Public Policy at the University of Oxford, where she aims to develop further the knowledge and skills needed to drive meaningful policy reform.
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Chanda Singoyi
Trustee
Chanda Singoyi is a Financial Specialist at Bloomberg L.P. in London. He holds master's degrees from the University of Oxford and University of Leeds, and a bachelor's degree from Bucknell University. Before joining Bloomberg, Chanda worked with the World Bank Group, focusing on Public-Private Partnerships in infrastructure projects in some of the world's poorest countries. He is passionate about education reform and reducing poverty through human capital development.
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Vanessa Strauss
Trustee
Vanessa runs Bright Fox Lettings in Tunbridge Wells. From South Africa, she is passionate about giving opportunities to disadvantaged young Africans.
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Krishan Tailor
Trustee
Krishan was born and raised in Ndola, Zambia, where he completed his secondary education. He pursued a degree in Agricultural Business Economics in the UK and US. Krishan is dedicated to giving back to his community and country of birth, and is passionate about education as key to self-fulfilment and national progress.
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Our Supporters & Volunteers
Thank you to everyone who supports Our Moon
We would like to thank all our supporters for their generous support of Our Moon, including our friends and companies, both local and far, who have donated to our auction and raffle prizes.
With special thanks to
The Headmen of Chipansha Village and Chief Liteta of the Lenje people of Chibombo District for their support of our project.
The Ministry of Community Development and the Department for Social Welfare in Chibombo.
Mulenga J Mulenga and Aubrey Chali for helping Our Moon students create a mural.
Malama Mushitu for his outstanding photography that is showcased on our website.
The UK Zambia High Commission and Her Excellency, Macenje Mazoka, for providing space for charity functions.
Institutional & Network Support
Pestalozzi International for their support of our programmes.
The Sarda Family for making regular donations towards a stipend for our students at Ashoka University in India. They also make a generous donation towards our Big Give Christmas Challenge campaign.
Ally Buck for offering students and alumni pro bono psychotherapy.
Morgan Lewis and Bockius for pro bono legal support - most recently helping us establish a non-profit in the US
Keith Browne and teachers past and present from [Ecolint] (https://www.ecolint.ch/en) (international school of geneva) for mentorship of our students' research essays.
We would like to remember the mental health support provided by the wonderful Fungai Munyezi before her untimely pass in July 2026.
Individuals & Trusts
Thomas Lifuti, alumnus and IT manager, for giving so much of his time to furthering our IT development.
Dhruv Sarda for reading our longlisted applicants, interviewing shortlisted students, and providing corporate connections in Zambia.
Will Sullivan for his input to our strategic review.
Generous donations from The Chalk Cliff Trust, The Coles-Medlock Foundation, Didymus CIO, Gilchrist Educational Trust, John Collings Charitable Trust, Mageni Trust, The Souter Charitable Trust and SMOAT.
We would also like to thank all family and friends for their continued donations and support and all the companies that provide internship opportunities for our students and alumni.
Want to support us?
Whether you want to donate, volunteer, or partner with us — we'd love to hear from you.