Nanyuki, Kenya–The BOMA Project, a U.S.-based nonprofit that trains and mentors women in running their own small businesses across the arid and semi-arid lands of East Africa, announced the appointment of Helena Dalton as East Africa Regional Director. Helena has worked in international development for over 25 years and has held positions in various organizations, including AMREF, Oxfam, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Mercy Corps, AED, the Commonwealth Foundation, CRS, in Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Thailand, Iraq, the Republic of Georgia and the UK.
“We are thrilled to have Helena join our team in East Africa,” said Kathleen Colson, Founder and CEO of the BOMA Project. “Helena brings a wealth of experience and we look forward to her leadership as BOMA expands to new countries and regions over the next five years.”
As the Country Director for IRC in Thailand, Ms. Dalton led the closure of IRC resettlement and repatriation programs, as the Cambodian and Laotian camps closed, and set up health programs in the newly-established refugee camps on the Thai- Burma border. Ms. Dalton was instrumental in setting up the IRC Office in London. In the Republic of Georgia and Iraq, she was able to indulge her deep interest in nurturing citizen participation in democratic processes and strengthening civil society, where she held senior technical positions in two innovative democracy and governance programs. In Kenya, Helena was a senior manager with the Capable Partners Program, working with many local NGOs including including Beacon of Hope, HEART, Rafiki wa Maendeleo Trust, Ace Africa and Handicap International, to strengthen the technical and organizational capacity of national CSOs to respond effectively to the impact of HIV on women and children. She also worked on the Yes Youth Can program with local youth groups. Most recently Helena was Chief of Party for a USAID funded program that was designed to improve the health, nutrition, education and psychosocial well-being of vulnerable children, as well as reduce abuse, exploitation and neglect to these children implemented by CRS in Uganda.
Ms. Dalton is a citizen of Kenya and holds an MPhil from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex UK.