Untold Staff Feature: Nancy Chumo, East Africa Program Manager
The role of Program Manager is central to the work of Untold’s global leadership team, focused on the technical and strategy sides of program development. Nancy Chumo is steadfast in this role, ensuring that the systems in place are in compliance with the processes and abilities of the staff associated with the Untold program. We are so grateful for Nancy’s leadership, and we are honored to share more of her story.
Throughout the entirety of her education and career, Nancy Chumo has invested her skills in community development work with unwavering commitment. Previously, she has worked in government policy and civic education in different capacities, and now views her work with Untold as “a gift back to the Christian community.”
Raised in a pastoralist community in Western Kenya, extended education was uncommon among women, but Nancy advocated for herself and made her way successfully through college. She holds a master’s degree in development studies and hopes to continue furthering her education throughout her life.
“Those experiences actually made me an activist,” Nancy said. "With God's intervention, I championed for my own rights.”
“My love for community is derived from my own background,” she shared. “I realized that if there is nobody to help those who are disadvantaged in information and resources, they will remain underprivileged and their communities will be underdeveloped.”
Nancy describes her path to Untold as a spiritual encounter. While visiting the region near the Untold offices, she found herself drawn to the area, in what felt like a prompting from God.
Around the same time, she came across a story of a famous activist who wrote that “everyone has an untold story.” This message stuck with Nancy, as she felt that she herself had so many untold stories. Just a short time later, she saw an announcement from a former workmate sharing about a wonderful organization called Untold based in Limuru.
“I didn't know there was an organization that actually is implementing a program that is based around untold stories. And I said, wow, I would love to be part of this,” she shared.
After many years in community development work, Nancy is entering her fourth year working with Untold. She shared that what makes her role in Untold unique within the sector of community development work, is the proximity she feels to the transformation occurring in clients' lives.
“For me, transitioning to the position of a program manager enables me to get the stories, experience the impact firsthand … here it is real,” she said. “You can see from people, you can see from the clients themselves. It's where my passion is.”
Nancy’s heart for the work stems from her personal story. After losing a sister to HIV/AIDS many years ago, HIV/AIDS healthcare did not seem to hold much hope. Nancy shared that working with Untold has helped her heal and turn away from denial, now becoming a passionate advocate for effective treatment and holistic care.
“I had to heal and brace myself to be the champion of every patient, every person that is affected directly by HIV,” she said. “So I'm passionate about what I'm doing and I would say I'm very aggressive about it because if I had known this information earlier, my sister would not have died.”
Nancy continued: “I'm championing for these dear ones that cannot speak up for themselves. I want to see them recover from every manner of disenfranchisement that they have faced as a result of HIV/AIDS.”
Community is at the core of Nancy’s commitment to Untold. Both in creating community herself and experiencing the love that exists within it, she shared the deep impact the Untold team has made on her life.
“Here at Untold, people are passionate about their service to communities,” she said. “They have made me humble. They have made me wear the heart of a servant. They make me yearn to come to work in the morning. There is no single day I've ever wished or hesitated to wake up, because each new day I meet great smiles. People want to speak to me, people want to work with me, and I want to work with them. So this is where I am.”