Founder & Board of Trustees
Ian Harvey
Kimbilio’s Founder, now Director of Congo Children Trust
Ian Harvey is the founder of Kimbilio. He is originally from the north east of England and studied Social Anthropology at SOAS, University of London. He then went on to train as a social worker at Exeter University. His ties to the DR Congo are deep, having been inspired by his aunt who has run a rural hospital near the Angolan border since 1965. He saw the desperate situation of Congolese street children close up while working as an election observer in Kinshasa in 2006, out of which came his vision and drive to help them, and the birth of Kimbilio.
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Ian established Congo Children Trust in 2007 to fundraise for Kimbilio, and in 2009 he moved to Lubumbashi. From 2009 through 2014 he built the Kimbilio organization from the ground up, creating a sustainable nonprofit that is now led by an accomplished, local Congolese team. Ian now lives in Manchester, England, serving as Founding Director of Congo Children Trust. He works closely with the Kimbilio team, primarily on a remote basis.
Ruth Allen
Ruth Allen has been a Trustee since the initial stages of setting up Kimbilio began in 2007. She is passionate about transforming the lives of children and families in DR Congo through caring and loving support. Ruth lives in Manchester and works at Manchester Art Gallery and Platt
Hall leading art and collection programmes with communities across the
city. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, walking, films and music.
Isabelle Bryan
Isabelle is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. She has over 10 years’ experience in the non-profit sector space leading teams and developing income strategies for businesses and global organisations including the Coop Group, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and Hope for Justice.
Her passion lies in tackling pressing issues including human trafficking, modern slavery, poverty alleviation, sanitation, healthcare, economic empowerment, education, and gender equality. Isabelle has also played significant leadership roles in various registered housing providers in the UK, notably the Regenda Housing and Construction Group. She has recently made a debut as an author by publishing her first novel ‘Sakola’ which received widespread acclaim during Black British History Month in 2023.
Mark Gant
Mark Gant is a founding trustee of Congo Children Trust and is currently its Treasurer. He is excited to have seen the growth and impact of the project since the early vision first emerged. Mark speaks Spanish and French, and the latter has been useful for visits to Lubumbashi and in correspondence with Kimbilio staff. He lives and works in the historic city of Chester, U.K. where he is Head of the Centre for Student Exchange and Language Development at the University of Chester.
Jocella Peck
Jocella became a trustee of Congo Children Trust in 2024. She lives in Plymouth with her two sons aged 17 and 12. Her interest in CCT stems from her youngest son’s connection with DRC by birth. Jocella trained as a social worker after graduating many years ago and worked as a Probation Officer. She now works for a drug and alcohol charity, Harbour, delivering treatment for people dependent on drugs and alcohol and the complexities that go with it. She is passionate about understanding behaviour and trauma, spending a lot of her time reading, researching and growing her awareness and knowledge in this field. At Harbour she leads on families, 18-25 year old transitions, training and workforce development, volunteering and trauma informed practice. She is proud and excited to be part of CCT.
Sile Reynolds
Sile has been a trustee of Congo Children Trust since her return to England from DR Congo in 2015. While in DR Congo, Sile volunteered at the Kimbilio day centre in Lubumbashi in 2013-2014, helping to register the children who attended, running French language classes and assisting with strategic planning. Sile is based in London where she is the head of asylum advocacy at UK human rights charity, Freedom from Torture, and has been working with and for refugees and asylum seekers for over 20 years as a policy and advocacy expert, a researcher and a campaigner.
Balagize Maheshe
Balagize Maheshe has been involved with Congo Children Trust and Kimbilio since the early days. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Salford. Balagizi is Congolese and loves his people, which is a main reason why he supports Kimbilio. Other Congolese causes he has supported include Walikale Together as well as a collaboration with Liverpool FC to send football kits to children displaced internally in Congo and to those in refugee camps in Burundi and Malawi/Zaleka camp. Balgizi’s aim is to see Kimbilio grow even further and become recognised worldwide.
