Meet Our Team In South Africa

Our BIA team in South Africa consists of 9 employees. The daily work of BIA is in the hands of three coordinators- general, academic and educational. Our individual social support is provided by 5 mentors.

We are also supported by our board of directors, both in South Africa and Belgium.

Meet our board members: in South Africa who comprise of a dynamic group of individuals all dedicated to offering advice and guidance in order to take our organization to a level of excellence.

Janet Harding (Chairlady, investement advisor and director), Isabelle Brink (General Coordinator, co-founder and director), Ruby Chetty (local PR), Veronique Claes- Tapu (Educational Coordinator, director and secretary), Remi De Backer (advisor and link BE), Emma Irvine (press in SA and advisor), Nick Brooks (financial advisor), Penny Brooks (educational advisor), Regino Van Rooyen (educational advisor SA and link with education department SA ) and Adje Bos (PR Crags).

We would also like to make mention of Lieve Platteau, Sofie Wieërs, Stijn Ingelaere and Fred Arijs, co-founders of Born in Africa in South Africa.

Isabelle De Smul-Brink

General Coordinator

Isabelle is our general coordinator and she is in charge of various facets of business administration. She also communicates with godparents. Her other duties include writing the newsletter, fielding requests for potential sponsors and general public relations with Belgium. In addition, she also acts as a guide for tourists, visitors and BIA godparents. As general coordinator, she keeps a watchful eye on all the projects and consults with BIA Belgium.

Email: isabelle@borninafrica.org

Belinda Coram

Academic Coordinator

Belinda works with the Tertiary Education Project- completing applications, as well as monitoring the academic results and the social well-being of students. She does career guidance for the Grade 9-12 pupils and mentors our tertiary and Wittedrift students. She is also responsible for PR in South Africa.

Email: belinda@borninafrica.org

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Véronique Claes- Tapu

Educational coordinator

Veronique is our educational coordinator at Born in Africa, which means she is the one organizing the educational camps, holiday outings, after- school project and other life skill programs throughout the year. She is also the mentor of interns and volunteers who stay with us in SA for a couple of months.

E-mail: veronique@borninafrica.org

Catherine Schoeman

Mentor Crags

Catherine mentors all 90 children from the Crags, who either attend The Crags Primary or Plett Secondary School.

Liezel McCallum

Mentor Harkerville and New Horizons learners

As the number of learners residing in New Horizons and Kwanokuthula grew, we identified the need of having a local mentor for these children. We met Liezel in 2022 and knew this was the perfect match for our need! Since then, Liezel mentors learners who attend Harkerville Primary, Wittedrift Primary or Formosa Primary and live in the beforementioned communities.

Sarija Bewee

Mentor In Plett Sec, Harkerville, Wittedrift

Sarija mentors children from Plett Secondary school, Harkerville Primary and Wittedrift Primary.

Tamarin Windvogel

Mentor Kranshoek Primary and Plett Secondary

Tamarin, a Kranshoek local with tons of experience, joined our team in 2022. She mentors all learners from Kranshoek Primary as well as the grade 8 and 9 learners from Plett Secondary School, living in Kranshoek.

Delina Kleinsmidt

Care taker at the BIA educational centre and driver

Delina, mom of 4 children of whom 3 are part of BIA, is our care taker at the Born in Africa educational centre in Kranshoek. Besides these responsibilities, she is also the driver transporting our children to swimming and surfing lessons, on camps and outings.

Pierrette Van Der Meulen

Swim coach

Pierrette joined the team in 2024 when Born in Africa’s swimming pool was finalized and the children in our program could enjoy daily swimming classes. Pierrette organizes these classes and makes sure the children are transported from school and back home safely each day.

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Janet Harding

Chairlady

Janet Harding is chairlady of BIA South Africa. She regularly attends staff meetings, acts as an advisor and helps with networking locally. Janet is a successful business woman.

Remi De Backer

Board member

Remi De Backer is a board member and the former chairman of BIA South Africa. Remi and his wife Lieve are both godparents and used to spend 5 months in South Africa and 7 months in Belgium every year. They both help with fundraising and PR.

Emma Irvine

Board member

Emma was a big help for many years as a volunteer and administrative support to Born in Africa before she became a board member in 2018. Emma now has an advising role, but still helps with translating the newsletter, does a lot of PR- work and updates the database of our children in South Africa.

Ruby Chetty

Board member

Ruby is a board member of BIA South Africa. She is not only a local business woman, but also our link with the local Rotary club and she assists with the BIA – Rotary interact club.

Adje Bos

Board member

Adje Bos is a board member of BIA South Africa who assists with networking and helps to nurture the relationship between the Siya Phambili group and BIA.

Regino Van Rooyen

Board member

Regino Van Rooysen is a board member of BIA South Africa who went through the Born in Africa himself. After attending Wittedrift High, he received a BIA bursary to study further and now he is a qualified teacher at Plett Secondary, which makes him the perfect liaison between the education system in Bitou and Born in Africa.

Nick and Penny Brooks

Board members

Nick and Penny are the founders of the UK supporters of BIA and have been involved as godparents, volunteers and educational advisors for many years at Born in Africa. In 2025 they joined the board in South Africa as financial and educational advisors.

Marita Manuel

Kranshoek – Former Mentor

Marita was a mentor of so many children who live in Kranshoek and attend school either at Kranshoek Primary or Plett Secondary from 2008, when she started working for Born in Africa, until her passing in 2020. Marita was part of the team for 12 years and will never be forgotten by all our staff, children and families. Rest in peace, Marita.