Our Australian Team
Mawien Ariik
– Founder and CEO
Mawien Ariik (known as Ariik) is a retail and commercial banking
professional with over 10 years’ experience in the finance and banking
sectors. Ariik currently works as Finance Manager for one of Australia’s big four banks.
Ariik graduated in Australia with a Bachelor of Business and a Masters in Banking and Finance. He is an Australian citizen and a dedicated Rotarian who has a wealth of experience in leadership roles within the community.
His areas of interest being mentorship and community engagement.
As a war orphan who lost his army general father in the South Sudan civil war, Ariik lived in refugee camps from a very young age. Since arriving in Australia in 2005, Ariik has been determined to find ways to help the people within the Lou Ariik community and surrounding villages.
As the founder and Chairman of South Sudanese Health Matters Inc
(SSHMI), Ariik is securing project funding and partnerships for two very
special projects close to his heart in Lou Ariik village: sponsoring girls’
health hygiene programs and building a medical clinic in memory of Sultan Dhor Ariik in his hometown of Lou Ariik. Ariik provides strategic direction to the organisation and the people involved both in South Sudan and Australia.
Luke Allen
– Co-Founder and Treasurer
Luke Allen is a Chartered Accountant with experience within the insolvency industry. Having grown up in Melbourne, he currently works at TEQSA as Senior Financial Analyst. Luke has been Treasurer of SSHMI since its inception, he is also a Rotarian with a strong desire to help others.
Luke shares SSHMI’s vision and is bringing it to life through his accounting skills, studies, and work experience as an insolvency accountant. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Chartered Accountant (CA) qualification.
SSHMI’s finances and projects are in good hands thanks to Luke’s wealth of knowledge and experience in the finance sector.
Glenda Frazer
– SSHMI Member / Secretary
Glenda has over 30 years’ experience in the public sector in both
management and executive management roles. Glenda has a Diploma in
Project Management and specialises in the delivery of large-scale
operational programs. Prior to her retirement she was the Director of
Elections in Victoria where she was responsible for the delivery of State
and local government elections. With a strong background in the
development, implementation, and maintenance of strategic and
operational plans and of risk management frameworks Glenda brings a
compliance focus to SSHMI and looks forward to supporting SSHMI in
achieving its goals within South Sudan.
Currently appointed as Secretary to SSHMI Glenda is responsible for
executive support to the CEO and other members as well as the
administration and management of SSHMI’s infrastructure and website.
Neville John
– SSHMI Member / Advisor
Neville is a Chartered Accountant. He enjoyed a 27-year career with a Melbourne Chartered Accounting firm with roles that included Managing Partner, adviser to a range of Australian SME’s and International corporate clients, and team leader for projects in the South-East Asia region.
Neville has been a member of Central Melbourne Rotary since 1995 and has served Rotary in many capacities, including Club President and District Governor.
Being a member of Rotary has provided Neville with a broad understanding of the humanitarian service work being carried out through the Rotary network, both locally and around the world. He believes that Rotary’s unique network allows the organisation to take on projects that could not otherwise be achieved as a single entity.
Neville’s community service work has also extended over a long period to being a Board Member of several for-purpose NGO’s, predominantly in the finance and treasury area.
Deirdre Lewis
– SSHMI Member / Advisor
Deirdre Lewis is a medical practitioner with experience in primary health care, medical education, and surgery. She currently works clinically as a surgical assistant, mainly in the areas of orthopaedic and plastic surgery. She is keen to use her medical knowledge and networks, to help SSHMI develop a strategy that targets the main primary health issues in the region and delivers sustainable medical services, implemented by trained local providers, to meet the essential health care needs of the community in Lou Ariik Village.
Deirdre also has familiarity with grant writing in the not-for-profit sector, having volunteered in this capacity with WomenCAN Australia over the past two years. She is also enrolled in a Community Board Members course with The Institute of Community Directors Australia.
Rhys Williams
– SSHMI Member / Advisor
Rhys is excited by the SSHMI mission to transform lives through practical healthcare initiatives in South Sudan, one of the world’s newest countries, and trusts his experiences will assist SSHMI’s governance efforts. Rhys has 30 years’ experience in transnational education managing the delivery of Australian University courses (RMIT and Victoria Universities) with partners in many countries and witnessing the transformation of many lives through this process. Rhys also has diverse experiences in vocational education and training, including running a group employment scheme in sport and recreation, and delivering a large international insurance and finance distance education program. Rhys has also been active in the not-for-profit sectors through his active Rotary International membership, Board roles for the KOTO International Limited, which supports disadvantaged youth in Vietnam, and the Spina Bifida Foundation of Victoria, the self-help group for this common disability. His qualifications are in social science and education.
Our South Sudan Team
Benedicto Tong Bol
– Country Director, South Sudan
A graduate of the University of Juba’s School of Law, Benedicto’s thesis was on child protection and he has been a volunteer UNICEF trainer on gender-based violence and child protection. He is currently working as a volunteer Advocate trainee, representing clients on various criminal, civil and constitutional cases, and his career aspiration is to become a human rights lawyer specialising in women’s protection.
Mario Maker Majok
– Programs Director, South Sudan
Mario is a student at both the University of Juba School of Law, and the Catholic University of South Sudan’s Institute of Justice and Peace Studies. He is Co-Founder and Director of Programs of Young Leaders Society (YLS), and has extensive experience in running youth and women programs.
He is an executive member of the Peace Club at the Catholic University where he collaborates with his colleagues in the school to support peace activities in the country. After he completes his studies, Mario’s long-term goal is to be a Peace and Human Rights advocate.
Kuol Ariik Dhor
– Internal Control Director, South Sudan
Kuol is very engaged with the Lou-Ariik community and is currently working as a volunteer at the Department of Immigration in South Sudan, helping people needing assistance to obtain a nationality/citizenship and passport. He joined SSHM in 2020 to assist with the internal coordination needed to drive our projects into reality.
