sivan borowich ya’ari is the founder and president of jewish heart for africa. born in israel and raised in france, sivan has been working in africa for over ten years. her time on the african continent began while working with a major multinational corporation in 1999. following two years in the finance world, sivan worked with the united nations development program (UNDP) on diesel energy development. it was during this time that she realized the importance of a more sustainable energy solution, and developed the groundwork for what would become jewish heart for africa. sivan graduated summa cum laude with a degree in finance from pace university and holds a master’s degree in international energy management and policy from columbia university’s school of international and public affairs.
while studying art and literature at new york university, rachel took some time to study and teach in west africa, where she founded a small non-profit for street children. after graduating summa cum laude with a B.A. in individualized study, she decided not to get her PhD. as planned, and traveled the world instead, before returning to her native new york and joining the jewish heart for africa team. rachel has worked with various non-profits promoting the arts, education, and human rights. she speaks hebrew and spanish, has taught english on three continents and has traveled to over 30 countries.
after completing a two-year military service in her native israel, bar went traveling and spent time working and volunteering with local communities in the brazilian amazon and kolkata, india. four years ago, bar moved to new york to attend columbia university and worked with human rights and conflict resolution non-profits before joining jewish heart for africa, where she was thrilled to combine her israeli background with her passion for development work. bar graduated cum laude with a BA in philosophy, is a certified TEFL teacher and has studied six languages. swahili and chichewa are next on her list.
robert khakhosi was born and raised in mbale, uganda. after studying sustainable agriculture in KULIKA charitable trust, robert worked as an agriculture extension worker with heifer international and as an agricultural trainer with world vision international. robert has also volunteered as a community health worker with the abayudaya congregation and foundation for development of the needy communities in mbale, uganda. robert speaks fluent english and kiswahili as well as eight bantu languages.
