Our Team
FSE Finland actors
Antti Komulainen
Founder | Secretary of the board | Project manager
I was born in 1954, and am now a retired special needs teacher. During my teaching career I have been active in various organizations relating to pedagogic and special needs education. For example: council member of the Trade Union of Teachers in Espoo and Kauniainen, shop steward of Espoo JUKO, four years as OAJ member, and member of the council at the Association of Special Education in Southern Finland. Development cooperation has been close to my heart for decades; so far my daily profession has limited my activities to my home country. With the growing funding for projects through FSE organization, I am now able to become active abroad, continuing t do what's important to me, and intend to carry on for as long as I have the energy to do so.
Eva Forssén
Founder | Association Treasurer | Learning Developer | Teacher trainer
I retired on January 1, 2022 from my work as a Senior Lecturer at the Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Espoo, Finland. Prior to founding FSE, I was a teaching consultant in Information Technology and as consultant for school curriculums for the city of Espoo. I also have several years’ experience in the supplementary training of teachers at Helsinki University. At the grass roots level I also worked as a music teacher in secondary schools for over 10 years.
Kirsi Ihalainen
Association ChairpeRSON | Member of the board
I am a Helsinki-based middle school special class teacher and worked for over 30 years in several implementation models. I have worked with the City of Helsinki special education as a pedagogical developer, assistant principal and as a trustee for special education teachers. I framed and implemented special education development projects in Finland and also in Tanzania, in collaboration with the in-service training of teachers at Makumira University. Preventing exclusion and removing barriers for schoolchildren with special needs is my heart matter. Nationally, I have networked with the teachers and other influential agents through OAJ council (The Trade Union of Education in Finland) and the pedagogical association Finnish Association of Special Education.
Sini Koivunen
Member of the board
I am a Helsinki based registered nurse and sign-language instructor. I have previously worked as a communication in charge in housing services for disabled. Currently I’m workin as an anesthetic nurse in HUS. Volunteer work has always been close to my heart and I have worked as a volunteer in Finland with kids with special needs, and also in Kenya as a nurse. In Kenya I did a picture communication folder in Swahili and I also taught signs to the staff. I’m dreaming of using my knowledge with FSE in Tansania. Disabled children and those with special needs, their rights and equality are important values for me.
Aino Korhonen
Member of the board | Event manager | Developer/coach
Developer, coach My job includes designing, promoting, and enriching learning processes and community work utilizing a variety of e-learning environments, mobile technology, and social media applications. I have more than twenty years of experience in the field of coaching, education and teaching at the University of Helsinki in Palmenia (now HY +) and Heuristica, which specializes in work community skills and is my current job. The whole span of ideation of development projects and from applying for funding to management, implementation and evaluation is familiar to me. Experience can be found in international projects e.g. from EU countries and of course Tanzania, Arusha, Hear! project.
Anja Malm
Member of the board | Retired Entrepreneur
I have spent almost my entire career working in various organizations. At the Finnish Association of the Deaf, I edited the Basic Dictionary of Finnish Sign Language, conducted sign language research, and engaged in advocacy work on sign language issues. My involvement with development cooperation also began there, as I visited Ethiopia for the first time in 1990. From 2010 to 2023, I worked as the Executive Director at Disability Partnership Finland, a cooperation forum for Finnish disability organizations in the field of development cooperation. Now, I continue my career through my own business, focusing on themes such as promoting disability inclusion in development cooperation and accessibility of the built environment.
Taika Wiikari
Member of the board
I am a midwife from Helsinki working in a delivery room. In my gap year after high school, I did volunteer work in Arusha for FSE. I filmed a short documentary about Arusha at the time: Arusha, listen! project and got to know the association’s work and Tanzanian culture. At that time, I also worked in Igoda Children’s Village for a few months and got the spark from there to apply to midwifery school. My dream is to use my sexual and reproductive health expertise through FSE in Tanzania as well. Promoting the sexual health of people with disabilities and sexual education are very important things to me.
Erkka Ala-Lahti
Deputy board member
I come from Seinäjoki, and I’ve gone from being a student to being a coach and entrepreneur in the field of events, restaurants and tourism. On top of my years in Tampere and Vaasa, life has taken me abroad and brought along a lot of insight in dealing with different kinds of people, backgrounds and cultures. Nowadays I live in Helsinki, and as a starting IT-professional I’m also interested in cybersecurity and the digital world in general, and how to utilize it in both professional and civil sides of life. I see voluntary work as a privilege, and I believe FSE can benefit from my knowledge and experience in the future as well.
Emma Nkonoki
Deputy board member
Biography coming soon!
FSE Tanzania actors
Nossim Aloyce
COuntry coordinator | Tanzanian Board Member
Biography coming soon!
Lydia Kimaro
Training Coordinator
Biography coming soon!
Prof. Raymond S. Mosha
Chairman | Tanzanian board Member
I passionately believe that our humanity is best expressed in how we help those in need and the marginalized. In this spirit, I wish to serve on the board of FSE Tanzania with deep commitment and humility. I am a professor of philosophy and ethics who has had the opportunity to teach for approximately 50 years in Tanzania, Kenya, the United States, and Finland. I continue to teach, conduct research, and publish books, particularly in the fields of education and ethics.