Fr. Kizito is the founder of Hope Connecting Hearts Nigeria. He is originally from Nigeria. He was ordained a Catholic priest September 14,1996 for Minna Diocese in Nigeria. Prior to his arrival in the Archdiocese of Omaha in 2004, he served as pastor in three rural communities in Minna Diocese for about 8 yrs. Since being in the Archdiocese of Omaha he served as Associate pastor at St. Wenceslaus Church and St. Thomas More Church both in Omaha, Nebraska; and was the chaplain of Our Lady of Africa Catholic Community also in Omaha. He is currently the pastor of St. Wenceslaus Church and St. William Church in Verdigre and Niobrara respectively. Apart from his eclectic pastoral experiences, Fr. Kizito has an extensive mission experience from working with the rural poor and with immigrant communities. He holds graduate degrees in both community counseling and Christian Spirituality from Creighton University Omaha. Fr. Kizito's experience and interest in both human and community development has inspired mission trips to Nigeria offering hope and opportunity for solidarity with poor rural children supported by Hope Connecting Hearts Nigeria.

I have been involved with Hope Connecting Hearts Nigeria since March of 2012 when I decided to join Father Kizito on his mission trip to Nigeria. I was very humbled by the wonderful people we met and experiences that we had, so I decided to help out more and accept a position on the board in July 2014. As an active member for the board, I am using all resources available to expand and grow our cause. Providing hope and a brighter future to the students and parents of the Parishes and Schools in the Minna Diocese brings a great sense of joy and a growing of stronger faith to my family and myself.

​Phyllis has been a Board Member of Hope Connecting Hearts Nigeria since its founding. She has also volunteered her time at Spirit Catholic Radio, St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church and School, Skutt Catholic High School along with several others. Mark has been involved in many Catholic and civic organizations over the years. He joined the HCHN Board in February 2018 upon retiring from the insurance industry in 2017 after 43 years. With more time on his hands, he found himself called to help the children in Nigeria and went on his first mission trip in 2018. It was truly a humbling experience for him. The children desperately need our help and HCHN is filling that need. We feel blessed to be a part of it. Mark and Phyllis have 3 children and 2 grandchildren. They also spend time in their family business, Pets Earth, an all natural pet food supply store in Papillion and Omaha.

Bill has been involved with Hope Connecting Hearts Nigeria since 2015. Bill has traveled to Nigeria on two mission trips in 2015 and 2018. Bill is a retired Police Lieutenant with 27 years of service and retired in 2001 and now does various volunteer work in the community. He is a widower and has three children and 8 grandchildren.

Bill is co-founder of The Premier Group LLC, an investment and retirement income planning firm located in Omaha, NE. Bill has been married to his wife Margie for 37 years and has four children and three grandchildren. Bill has traveled on HCHN mission trips in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

I went on the first Nigerian Mission Trip in 2011 and have been privileged to be the HCHN Board Secretary since its inception. My professional background is in education. I was an elementary teacher for 34 years, teaching in the Iowa and Nebraska Public Schools, and the Omaha Archdiocesan Catholic School System. I love working with children, so am especially happy to still be connected with the education of children; this time being in Nigeria, not in the classroom.

Dave and Julie Wilson have been Hope Connecting Hearts Board Members since its beginning in 2012 when Fr. Kizito, our associate pastor at St Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Omaha, expressed a lack of basic education and clean water for rural children in his homeland. Dave became the first President, he traveled to the Minna Diocese on the 2015 and 2017 mission trips where he experienced the way of the poor and their need for Catholic education in rural Nigeria. Julie crochets "scrubbies", which help provide sandals for the schoolchildren. Our family includes three married sons and five grandchildren. Dave recently retired from commercial real estate sales and Julie teaches piano in our home. We are grateful for the gift of Fr. Kizito's vocation in our country, we feel blessed to have met his people here and/or in his homeland and we are excited to support two students through the Tuition Assistance Program. It's a joy for us to be a part of this mission and this board.

“Hope Connecting Hearts Nigeria” is a perfect solution to getting away from donating to “the all inclusive list of charities” driven by some charitable organizations. There are no administrative salaries reducing the funds available, the Board of Directors donates their time, and the funds provided are accounted for and placed where the children to be benefited reside. The results are obvious from the pictures of the children at the new schools that have been built and the wells for clean water that have been drilled. The satisfaction from this approach is why I contribute to this organization and became a member of its Board of Directors.

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