Over the summer of 2017, a group of six students and young professionals from Germany, Austria, England, and Italy founded Source – Network for Humanitarian Action. Despite our different origins and educational backgrounds in marketing, data science, law, politics, and investment consulting, we are united in our vision to use technology to establish humanitarian and educational programs worldwide. With our first project, “Computer for Kakuma”, we constructed a computer centre in Kakuma refugee camp, Northern Kenya. At this centre we provide high level coding and computer skills courses for refugees. Working together with a refugeerun, local NGO – SIR (Solidarity Initiative for Refugees) – we aim to encourage the idea of education through innovation, thus helping refugees find employment opportunities and further their life goals. With a very dedicated and talented local team, Computer for Kakuma has continued to grow over the past 3 years. We now run additional courses in collaboration with UNHCR and Xavier Project NGO, focusing on life skills and refugee rights. We have expanded the original centre to include a brand new second classroom, entirely run on renewable energy, which has enabled us to educate more than 200 course participants per month at the centre. We have also opened an internet café in a nearby market within the camp, providing a basic income source and delivering much needed wi-fi to the local community. Our next step in this project is developing a mentorship program, connecting refugee students at the centre with young professionals in Europe to enable skill-sharing, career progression and cultural learning. After successfully trialling the program, we plan to initiate 12 mentor relationships in the coming months.
About Us
Leadership Team
Leon has accompanied the whole development of SOURCE, with his passionate vision for the power of education and his role as finance director. Leon is currently writing his doctoral thesis in law investigating the interplay between liability and innovation. When he first heard of Kakuma and the small group of refugees teaching basic computer courses in the camp, he knew he wanted to support this innovative and authentic project. He tries to advocate for the people in Kakuma with the same passion and dedication that they show every day in the programming courses.
Leonardo is one of the Co-Founders of SOURCE. His experiences in both the Calais Jungle Refugee Camp and Kakuma Refugee Camp profoundly transformed him, igniting a steadfast dedication to the refugee cause ever since. In addition to his NGO work, Leonardo has worked for numerous tech companies in strategic communications. However he is currently looking to transition full time into the refugee sector to maximise his impact in this crucial and relevant world issue.
James is an investment associate residing in the UK. Since joining in 2019 he has been involved in the management of local partnerships, operations, and infrastructure. After studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) at Exeter University, James went on to complete a master’s degree in International Management at Esade Business School, Barcelona. He joined SOURCE in 2019, spending a month in Kakuma Refugee Camp working with the local team.
Anni currently works as a Product Strategy Analyst at Typeform in Barcelona, having previously held positions as an Operations Analyst at Glovo and Customer Success Analyst at Salesforce. Her educational background includes a bachelor's degree in economics from Goethe University Frankfurt and a double master's degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, as well as Business Analytics from ESADE Business School in Barcelona. She is originally from Germany.
Tilman is a Political Consultant in Germany driven by his belief that technology provides countless effective tools to facilitate access to education. Tilman's work focuses on advising tech and platform companies. He strongly believes that education can make a significant difference, especially in places where there are many obstacles to obtaining a good education. He joined SOURCE to advance this vision of leveraging technology to connect people and create life-changing opportunities.
Henrik was impassioned by the possibility to broaden his cultural horizon through exposure to new perspectives, which led him to joining Source in 2018. After finishing his studies in Medical Informatics in Göttingen 4 years ago, he began his career in data science mostly working with Python and R. As the first participant in our mentorship program he had the opportunity to share his knowledge and guide young developers in acquiring beneficial skills for the IT industry.
Tim Lichtenberg studied law in Germany. He supports Source with legal advice, documentation, and compliance.
Lisa, based in Cologne, is a mechanical engineer who is currently working on major construction projects for local public transportation. With a focus on local public transportation projects, she is increasingly involved in topics related to alternative driving solutions for buses and discussing sustainable technologies for the future. Her expertise in project management extends across all phases, from initial planning to diligent execution, ensuring a seamless implementation. For Lisa, joining SOURCE, is an opportunity to contribute something more to extending the reach of education far beyond the present.
