Matt Fowler, Programme Officer

"Child suffering and poverty is an issue that is close to my heart, as all nations around the world can do more to nurture and protect children and so it is an issue that must be acted on now to create a better and more dignified future for all."

 In my role at ChildFund, I project manage and support our in-country partners to ensure that we are delivering the best possible outcomes for children and youth.

Specifically, I look after and manage ChildFund’s Road Map countries of Kenya, Zambia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

I was brought up within a socially minded family surrounded by social workers, community volunteers and politically minded people. This has ingrained in me the values I hold today as I have volunteered in New Zealand for child poverty groups and worked on children and youth programmes abroad.

I have both studied and practiced International Development, working and living in Ecuador and Papua New Guinea/Bougainville. From these experiences I have gained huge amounts of perspective from getting to experience other cultures, learn new languages and work alongside amazing people (who I can luckily now call friends) and communities.

I hold a genuine love of experiencing new places, working with people and truly understanding challenges communities face so we can best address them in equal partnership.

Working at ChildFund is a huge privilege as I support and work alongside communities across our Road Map countries. The ability to support children and communities throughout the world and to listen to their challenges and goals and how they seek to best develop their communities is a hugely humbling and rewarding experience.

Away from work, I love sports, namely cricket, squash, and football. I also have a love of languages as I have studied Te Reo Maori the last couple years and Spanish currently.