Sylvia Burgess
Sylvia Burgess is a teacher in the Lake Macquarie area and has been involved with the Ligusa community in West Kenya for 14 years, helping them develop their orphanage Clinic and now school. She travels to Kenya for a few months each year over there and is now working with them on achieving official NGO status to grow the organisation. Sylvia is loved by the Ligusa community and is a vital link to Kenya from Sydney. She has had first-hand experience of the tragedies facing the Ligusa community, as well as the power of education to change lives.
Barbara & Eugen Simon
Barbara and Eugen Simon became involved in the project when sisters Sylvia and Liz sent out an urgent request for donations after a devastating drought left the children of Ligusa hungry late in 2010. After getting in touch with the Liz and Sylvia, Eugen saw the potential for a school to benefit the community, and the couple began raising funds on their next trip to Germany. While Eugen’s main focus was fundraising, Barbara became active in building the local team, which is now five people strong and growing. Barbara is a Life Coach and Natural Health Therapist while Eugen is a public speaker and seminar facilitator. With involvements in various other projects, they bring a strong network and enthusiasm for education in the third world. The couple live between Germany and Sydney’s northern beaches.
Troy Laing
Troy Laing heard about Ligusa through a family friend, Glenn Hooker, one of the founding members of the Ligusa team. Inspired by Glenn’s efforts and the needs of the Ligusa children, Troy’s Dad Mitch donated his 50th birthday to the project, taking donations rather than gifts and raising enough funds to build a roof on the school. When Troy realised that the project was still in dire need of financial support, he set about creating a campaign that would help to make a difference. Together with his friend Tom Battaerd he will be climbing Mount Killimanjaro in January 2013, with a goal to raise $50,000 for Ligusa Children’s Centre. Funds raised will help pay for the completion of the school as well as much needed medical supplies and clean drinking water. With the support of the team, the Troy and Tom are well under way to their fundraising goal, and we look forward to supporting their journey ahead.
Jordana Reid
Jordana Reid is Sylvia Burgess' niece, and has followed the Ligusa Children's Centre project from inception. As a child she wrote letters to pen-pals in Kenya and has always had an interest in the community. Now a journalist based in Sydney's northern beaches, Jordana joined the Ligusa team in 2012 and has assisted in the facilitation of monthly meetings, fundraisers and is working towards raising the profile of Ligusa Children's Centre in the media and in the broader community.