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ABOUT US

OUR MISSION

ALPS Resilience is committed to helping migrant and local communities in Africa overcome the challenges of forced migration by strengthening community resilience.

 

ALPS Resilience was founded in 2015 to serve communities negatively impacted by conflict and displacement by designing custom interventions that focus on empowering migrants, promoting integration, fostering social cohesion and preventing violence.  We began by working with the Somali diaspora community in South Africa’s Western Cape, providing free English and computer classes to refugees and asylum seekers while strengthening the capacity of our community-based partner.

 

Today, our organisation supports a comprehensive resilience programme with projects in forced migration and violence prevention, in particular violent extremism. ALPS Resilience is currently implementing projects in Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, and Tanzania. 

OUR AREAS OF FOCUS

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RESEARCH

We drive innovative research initiatives, implement surveys, and conduct community assessments on migration and violence prevention in Africa.

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RESILIENCE BUILDING

We partner with community-based organisations to implement programmes that emphasise beneficiary participation and partner capacity-building.

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ADVOCACY

We advocate for policies and practice at the national and international level that reflect the best principles of international humanitarian and human rights law.

How do we define RESILIENCE?

Resilience refers to a community’s ability to withstand or recover from adverse situations, be it environmental disaster, conflict or radicalization. From our experience in the field, we advocate resilience as the critical lens through which to implement and measure stabilization and development projects.

OUR TEAM

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Dave Bax

 

Dave has over thirty years of experience in crisis recovery, particularly in program development and explosives management, including in high-risk areas and ongoing conflict zones. Before founding ALPS Resilience, Dave worked extensively in field missions for the United Nations in Somalia, Israel and Gaza, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Bosnia.

Phoebe Sibomana

 

Phoebe provides administrative support to the ALPS team. She holds an honours in community development studies from the University of the Western Cape. She comes with years of experience in working within non-profit organisations. She hopes to use her skills and experience to further ALPS's mission. 

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James van der Merwe

 

James oversees all financial matters at ALPS and an integral member of the team. He is a qualified and experienced financial manager who offers a wealth of experience from the corporate sector, spanning almost twenty years. His knowledge and skills in NGO finance, HR management, and risk management are an asset to ALPS.

Lea Koekemoer

Lea joined ALPS in 2019 as a Programme Officer, overseeing ALPS’s forced migration projects. Her areas of expertise include gender and migration. Lea is in the process of completing her MA in International Studies from the University of Stellenbosch, for which she is conducting research on the conditions of precarity, among detained migrants in South Africa. She has a background in community building projects with the University of Stellenbosch.

Dave Bax

Founder & Director

James van der Merwe

Financial Manager

Lea Koekemoer

Programme Officer

Victor Sapong

Victor joined the ALPS team to focus on issues relating to preventing violent extremism in Africa. He recently completed his honours degree in International Studies, and is currently a Masters candidate in Security and African Studies at the Military Academy of Stellenbosch University. His research interests include the linkages between security and development, countering violent extremism, and crisis and security management.

Victor Sapong

CVE/PVE

Christopher Whakatope

As Country Manager, Chris supervises project staff in the performance of their respective duties and ensures that there are clear and concise working arrangements with local partners in Mozambique. He is also responsible for preparing progress, annual and other reports that may be required by the stakeholders in conjunction with the Head Office based in Cape Town, South Africa.

Christopher Whakatope

Country Manager

Lwando Nonkenyana

Lwando is a Finance Clerk at ALPS, responsible for all documents related to financial reporting. He prepares controls for all documentation with regards to authorisations of payments, receipts, purchase orders, and verifying other financial data. Lwando has a National Diploma in accounting from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and is in the process of completing his BTech degree in Internal Auditing.

Lwando Nonkenyana

Finance Clerk

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Citia Tembe

Citia is a Human Resource Management professional with experience working with multinational and governmental organizations in areas of recruitment, communication, learning and development. She holds a degree in Human resource management from the University of Dodoma Tanzania and is passionate about community development. Citia aspires to be a recognised HR manager capable of influencing, motivating and engaging employees at various levels within the work environment.

Citia Tembe

ALPS Mozambique Administration and Communications Officer

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