Chenai Kadungure
About Chenai
Chenai is a soldier for peace who has headed up multiple international economic and community development non-profit programs in Africa, The Caribbean and North America. With a passion for leadership, strategy, partnerships and sustainable non-profits practicing a culture of care, she is happy to serve Black Youth Success(BYS), Rituals for Recovery (RFR) and The Black Physicians Association of Ontario (BPAO). She has extensive experience in research, leadership development, education, economic development and non-profit management. In her spare time she is involved with projects for Rotary International and sits on boards including the Meta Centre.
Chenai has been involved in non-profit work since she was a teenager. In high School she was an Interact member. Interact taught her the value in “Service Above Self” and this attraction to serving the world has never left her. Chenai holds a BA degree in Media, Sociology and Gender Studies and an MPhil in Diversity Studies from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. While in Cape Town her experiences of xenophobia inspired her to become a part of the solution to global conflict. She has experience in research, leadership development, economic development and non-profit management. She has fundraised for philanthropic initiatives, and assisted NGOs like Open Door Education, Cycle For Understanding; The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE). A dedicated soldier for peace, Chenai volunteered for The Red Frogs, has been involved in various church leadership activities and serves on the Board of Directors of Mwala, a charity organization. In her spare time, she mentors and coaches. Prior to the fellowship she worked for a non-profit called The Hope Factory, a business development company owned by The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) which grows people, to develop businesses and impact communities. Here in Toronto she will begin mentoring and running training workshops for Woodgreen Community Services.
During her fellowship she was privileged to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and go on a medical mission trip to Nicaragua. She completed her Applied Field Experience with US based NGO Social Designs, as their International Program Development Director for The Change Institute in Barbados with a partnership including the United Nations and the Sojourner Foundation.
She completed her MA in Global Studies with certification in International Development via the Duke and UNC Chapel Hill Peace Center. Her capstone Project focussed on transformational leadership, and she hopes this work will facilitate positive social change in Zimbabwe’s transition period via a Rotary Project in the making, as well as the proposed creation of a Ministry of Diaspora Affairs for Zimbabwe. She was Project Management Advisor for CARE Canada’s Southern African Nutrition Initiative (SANI), a public health nutrition project in Malawi funded by Global Affairs Canada.