Team
Our ZIMNA-UK Team
Jesca Gudza
Founder & Chair person
Jesca Gudza was born and educated in Zimbabwe. She then moved to the United Kingdom where she trained and qualified as a nurse and now works within the community as a Looked After Children’s Nurse Specialist. Jesca has vast experience working with vulnerable adults and children, in both a professional capacity and through supporting various organisations tackling diabetes and bereavement in Zimbabwe. She is truly passionate about uniting the community to fight against health inequalities.
Jabu Chikore
VICE CHAIR
Jabu Chikore was born and raised in Zimbabwe. He was encouraged to become a nurse by his mother, who is also a nurse and a midwife. After working as a mental health ward manager for about seven years, he felt he needed more. He got to a point where he thought he needed to influence the profession. So, he completed the MSC in Business and Leadership. As he tried to move from a band 7 to a band 8 health post, he felt like there was a ceiling for people like him.
He then worked out his presentation and interview skills to increase his chances for getting opportunities. His perseverance worked. Opportunities started coming more quickly after that, but he still aimed at doing more. The Aspiring Directors of Nursing gave him support and an opportunity to learn what was expected in the boardroom as well as the opportunity to network widely.
As the Covid-19 highlighted the inequalities suffered by Ethnic Minority Staff, he began to think of ways to change the outcomes for the Ethnic Minority Staff. He was asked to lead the BME Network and he highlighted the difficulties and inequalities that were being faced by people due to Covid-19. He was appointed the head of nursing, He became BME Chair leading the BME strategy with the Trust as a whole. He is a member of the BME Men’s Nursing Group.
Chris Dzikiti
ADVISOR
Chris Dzikiti is an experienced programme and project management professional with strong transformational leadership, operational management, strategic and clinical experience which has been built over 20 years in healthcare delivery and commissioning. He currently works as Head of Programmes, Transformation and Delivery for NHS England & Improvement. Previously Chris has also worked as a Programme director leading on mental health transformation in London and as Deputy director of programmes leading the programme management office for a directorate. He studied for a Degree in Mental Health Nursing at City, University of London. He also holds an MSc in Transcultural Psychiatry from Queen Mary University (2005-2007) and an MSc in Healthcare Management from City (2012-2014). He is also qualified in Prince 2, MSP and Lean six Sigma yellow belt. Chris is Chair of Zimbabwe Health Training Support, a UK-based group of healthcare professionals who support their fellow health workers in Zimbabwe. He is also Director of Operations for the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care Units leading and supporting the publication of national minimum standards and national guidance / policies. Between 2017 and 2021, Chris was a healthcare consultant for Health Education England in India, providing technical support for Mental Health Services there. He is also a published author, having contributed a chapter on psychiatric intensive care to the book Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing – The Craft of Caring. Chris is passionate about supporting BAME colleagues and is involved in coaching and mentoring young people from a BAME background.
