Who We Are

Winfreda Mwashala


Jordan Zuspann is the spark behind KHEF. Born in Denver, Colorado, it did not take long for Jordan to realize her passion in life, helping people. From a young age, Jordan has volunteered with multiple organizations. Between the ages of 18-20, she spent three years traveling around the world. In her travels, she worked with health organizations in South America and later Tanzania where she eventually chose to concentrate her efforts. Jordan's tenacity and devotion to helping others better themselves is contagious to all and prompted her to Co-Found KHEF. Her dreams for the organization are infinite and it is because of her that changes can and will happen.


Nick Phelps, treasurer and Co-Founder of KHEF, was born and raised in Washington D.C. by his supportive family. They instilled in him the value to help others. He attended a prestigious private school and is currently studying at the University of Denver where he is majoring in both Marketing and the field of Hospitality. Throughout his life, business and the aspects of proper management have excited him. He grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and understands the risks and rewards of running a business. When he is not in school, Nick enjoys traveling throughout the world with loved ones. In regards to KHEF, his goals are endless, but he knows that there is definite success in the road that lies ahead.


Carina Koury-Jones is proud to serve as the Community Coordinator for KHEF. She is a candidate for a B.F.A. (May 2008) from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design majoring in Art Education with a concentration in Community Education. Since spending her first grade year in Costa Rica, Carina has traveled throughout the world living in and learning about different cultures. In 2005 she met KHEF's Co-Founder and Director, Jordan Zuspann, while teaching and caring for children in a community of the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania, where 80% of the residents are positive for HIV/AIDS. As part of her work with KHEF, Carina hopes to create and support sustainable local change in the availability and accessibility of education and healthcare, by empowering the community of Tanzania where she once lived. When Carina is not traveling she divides her time between Martha's Vineyard, where she grew up, and Boston. She also serves as a consortium member for her parent's not for profit organization, Up the River Endeavors (URE), and is a Co-Director of URE's Message Advisory Committee. It is her hope that her generation will become better informed, more involved through sharing the world equitably, and live in greater harmony with the planet that sustains us all.


Madeline Kane, born in PA, is currently an honor's student at New York University. She acts as the regional representative for KHEF, offering enthusiasm and support to the organization. Her interests in diverse cultures have led her to pursue a degree in Global Development. In her free time, Maddie enjoys cooking, biking, and international travel. She is an open-minded, pro-active young woman who directly engages herself in not only the world's problems but also in finding solutions.


Trysha Daskam, a Junior at the University of Denver, is a pre-medical student with an adoration for English. Her passion resides in helping people with less than herself, and her role as a Recruitment Coordinator with KHEF allows her to share her enthusiasm and devotion with communities worldwide. Intrigued by fieldwork, Trysha's first glimpse at international heath care in South America inspired her to get involved with implementing sustainable medical services in areas of need. She is an innately optimistic member of the team, always working to remind us that the future of KHEF is bright.

Mission Statement

The Kilimanjaro Health & Education Fund works towards reducing the rural-urban inequality in access to health care by tailoring its services to comprehensively meet the needs of the community and by doing so decreasing morbidity and mortality among the most vulnerable in rural, African regions.

How We Got Started

KHEF was officially founded in 2007, but was really the fruition of a plethora of ideas by Jordan for many years before. She has spent a significant part of her life abroad and helping others. After her return from Africa in 2005, where she experienced first-hand the inconceivable poverty and devastation that constitutes so much of Africa, she knew that a lot needed to be done. While the first concepts revolve around healthcare, Jordan and Nick know that other areas are just as important and KHEF desires to address these in the future.

In January of 2007, Nick and Jordan incorporated and created KHEF in order to help those in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. Their aim is to increase the quality of healthcare through the creation of a community health worker program, to educate and empower people, and to spread the knowledge, confidence, and benefits associated with entrepreneurial efforts through micro-financing. While they both have learned that they must start small to inevitably become a large and successful organization, their dreams and aspirations fail to cease. Over the next 10 years, they hope to have made a significant impact on those living in the Kilimanjaro region and to continue to expand into and aid in various other realms that create the adverse conditions that cause vulnerability and result in poverty.

Future Project Objectives

  1. Recruit, Train & Employ
    Community Health Workers
  2. Open a KHEF Operated Outpatient clinic
  3. Open a Community Center:
    Day Care & Library
  4. Begin a Women's Empowerment & Employment Program
  5. Open a KHEF-Operated Training Hospital
  6. Open an Associated Orphanage
  7. Offer Interactive Hospice Care
  8. Open a State-of-the-Art Infectious Disease Research Center & Initiative
  9. Provide Sustainable Agricultural Training & Implementation Methods
  10. Launch a Micro-Financing System


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