PARTNERS
Hellen Grace Wangusa
Hellen Grace Wangusa, former United Nations Africa coordinator of the Millennium Development Goals, officially took office as the new Anglican Observer at the United Nations on 01 January 2007. In representing the Anglican Communion at the United Nations, Wangusa has a responsibility to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the secretary general of the Anglican Communion to provide regular briefings and a flow of accurate information on critical issues that come before the UN general assembly.
As a lay woman, Hellen has varied and extensive experience in her field. She holds a BA (Hons), Diploma Ed (Hons) and an MA in Modern Letters. Her undergraduate studies were taken at Makerere University in Kampala, where she worked as a teaching assistant and later as a Lecturer for the Literature Department. After leaving this post Hellen began work with the Anglican Church of Uganda as the National Women's Co-ordinator. She co-ordinated district (Diocesan) staff of 27 women under her programme and was responsible for mobilising women as well as developing National programmes and fundraising, while also being the national link person with the global World Wide Mothers' Union movement and the Anglican Communion.
From 1997-2004, she worked as Co-ordinator of African Women's Economic Policy Network (AWEPON), in that post Hellen advocated for polices that ensured the needs of Women, Children and those from marginalised groups were met, to ensure that those most affected were central in determining decisions affecting economic decision making.
Hellen is one of the founding members of AWEPON, as well as Gender and Economic Research in Africa (GERA), and the Council for Economic Empowerment of Women in Africa (CEEWA). Hellen has also successfully reactivated 2 organisations that had been closed: The Joint Mothers' Union and Women's office in the Province of the Church of Uganda and AWEPON which is one of the faith based women's organisations in Africa that also co-ordinates the UN's Millennium Campaign for Eastern Africa.