About Us
It started with a dream
Nello Ragusa was deeply moved with compassion after watching video footage of how in other parts of the world many children and families were living an underprivileged life.
Nello felt called to do something and to really make a difference to these precious lives and founded Hopes and Dreams in 2008.
Knowing he couldn’t take this on by himself he established key partnerships with like-minded people both in Australia and throughout Africa and Asia.
“We see a world where every person has access to clean, safe water and improved health. We see people’s lives transformed as we provide them a “hand up and not a hand out” as they make their own way out of poverty. We see people (women, children, families & whole communities) not walking in the same steps as their parents, but seeing them have a hope and a future.” – Nello Ragusa –
WHY WE EXIST
Hopes and Dreams exists for the direct relief of poverty, to bring basic human needs, social justice, self-worth and a sense of purpose to families living in poverty.
We believe Hopes and Dreams can assist in breaking the cycle of poverty for those who have been in this condition for years and even generations.
We don’t want to see children dying before they reach 5 years of age because of water-related diseases and we don’t want to see people go to bed hungry because they don’t have an income that can support their basic needs.
We want to see people, who, for the first time, have a hope for the future.
OUR MISSION
Hopes and Dreams is dedicated to delivering self-sustaining, poverty breaking solutions through micro enterprise and water development projects in Africa and India.
OUR VISION
We see a world where every person has access to clean, safe water and improved health. We see people’s lives transformed as we provide them a “hand up and not a hand out” as they make their own way out of poverty. We see people (women, children, families & whole communities) not walking in the same steps as their parents, but seeing them have a hope and a future.
OUR MOTIVATION
Hopes and Dreams is inspired by Christian values, and as such is passionate and committed to making a difference to the world’s most vulnerable; people living amongst the poorest of the poor. We are compelled by our faith to practically demonstrate love, show compassion and bring hope. We work with all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender to achieve community transformation.
Where We Work
Serving the poorest of the poor – Hopes and Dreams work with the underprivileged and vulnerable in rural and remote areas to improve their living conditions. We target communities and beneficiaries who live below the poverty line, that is, they have an income of less than $2 per day.
In India and South Africa we operate economic empowerment (micro enterprise development) programs for women. Across sub-Saharan Africa we provide access to clean safe drinking water and hygiene and sanitation education. We currently have projects in Zambia & Zimbabwe.
Click on the highlighted sections of the map to find out more about where we work.
Our Team
Hopes and Dreams is governed by a Management and Advisory Board.
Each member volunteers their time and skills and skills and is committed to improving the lives of the poor. No member is paid any remuneration for their board positions.
Nello Ragusa
Founder & AAA Chief Executive
As the founder & Chief Executive, Nello is a passionate and driven individual who is committed to leading this organisation in delivering its promise of working with the poorest of the poor and bringing self-sustainable solutions, so they can dare to dream and begin to have hope for a better tomorrow.
Nello is a corporate professional who runs his own IT Business consultancy specialising in Project Management. He and has worked in most of the countries different business sectors. Nello has been married to Rebecca for over 30 years and has 3 children; Natalie, Nicolas and Rachael.
Steve Dalton
Steve has over 20 years’ experience in corporate executive leadership roles, and is passionate about bringing this experience to help the most impoverished in the world. He has led a suite of teams in the areas of Finance, IT, Customer Service, Procurement, Legal, Property Management, Governance, Risk, Information Management, and Construction.
He has a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), Graduate Diploma in Management and Masters in Business Administration. Steve also has experience as a member of several boards, and in providing an advisory role to boards. He is delighted to be a part of the team at Hopes and Dreams to aid in fulfilling its mission.
Terence Muza
Terence is a qualified Chartered Accountant with over 12 years’ experience working in various accounting, finance and administration roles and across a number of sectors.
Being born in Africa-Zimbabwe, he understands first-hand and has seen the state of many similar communities in which Hopes and Dreams is serving.
Terence is passionate about bringing dignity to impoverished communities by finding solutions that provide sustainable solutions to meet everyday needs.
Terence is married and has 1 daughter. Outside of work Terence enjoys coaching, reading a good book and family/friends gatherings.
Richard Harvie
Projects and Fundraising
Richard is the Director of his own commercial and domestic plumbing company and has been in the field for over 30 years. He has completed formal qualifications in both Plumbing and Building and Construction to strengthen his experience.
Richard has a genuine heart passion in building friendships and relationships through his work and has always had a dream to just help people who are disadvantaged and impoverished.
In 2017 Richard travelled to Zimbabwe & South Africa to see first-hand how a water project in village of 3,000 has changed their lives and how women can be freed from generational poverty through micro loan opportunities. That trip touched him deeply.
Richard is married with 3 boys, he loves spending quality time with his family. He enjoys travelling, camping and fishing.
Gary Kleyn
Donor Relationship Engagement & Management
Gary has worked in media and communications for various publications and companies in the not-for-profit sector. For several years he headed a team of researchers investigating global food and water security for Perth-based think tank Future Directions International, which was set up by former Governor General Michael Jeffery. He is a board member of Capro Missions Australia which formed in Nigeria and now has missions across the globe. He lives in Launceston, Tasmania with his wife Aida and they have two daughters.
Dr John Clements
International Public Health and Development Advisor
A medical practitioner whose career spans 50 years, 17 of them in the World Health Organization, he has a heart for children in developing countries. As a young doctor, he ran a Christian mission hospital in the Peruvian Amazon. Further developing countries exposure in Bangladesh and Afghanistan determined his change of direction to Public Health and Infectious Disease Control. He maintained his desire to serve developing nations by working for the infant and childhood immunization in the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. There he worked in around 100 countries, interacting with national programme managers in Ministries of Health.
He writes extensively and has published many articles in the medical literature, mostly on public health issues. In 2003 he moved to Melbourne where until recently, he worked as a consultant with a number of UN and Australia-based international health agencies. He is Associate Professor in the School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Melbourne and Adjunct Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University. In 2014, he was appointed to the Geneva-based Independent Review Committee of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. In 2020 he was awarded Member of the Order of Australia. He has two adult sons who both work in the international aid sector
Governance
Hopes and Dreams is governed by the Management and Advisory Board in Australia.
This board overseas all operations internationally.
Hopes and Dreams is registered as an international NGO in Africa and is subsidiary to Hopes and Dreams in Australia. this subsidiary is fully owned and controlled by the parent organisation.
The Management and Advisory Board has a governance framework in place, this covers policies, procedures and risk management.
As an organisation we understand that many investors / donors may have concerns when giving a financial contribution to a charity, at Hopes and Dreams our governance model endeavours to addresses most of these common concerns, for example:
- How are the implementation partners selected?
- What controls are in place with these partners to keep them accountable?
- Who evaluates the projects?
- How do I/we know the funds contributed is being used for the purpose it was contributed?
- How do I/we know the work is being effective and how can you measure the impact?
If you are interested in knowing the answers to these questions or if you have any other questions please contact us via email at info@ghd.org.au.
Non-Profit Information
- Hopes and Dreams Inc (ABN: 32 343 758 455) is a not-for-profit organisation registered under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 in Victoria (Incorporation Registration No. A0051700F).
- Hopes and Dreams Inc is registered charity on the Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission register.
- Hopes and Dreams Inc is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) under Subdivision 30-BA by the Australian Taxation Office. It is covered by Item 1 of the table in section 30-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
- It is also registered under the Fundraising Act 1998 to conduct fundraising activities in Victoria.
How are the funds allocated?
Supplying > 90% of funds received directly to projects – Hopes and Dreams keeps our administration fees below 10%.
For any Not-For-profit organisation to be sustainable long term, have proper infrastructure and growth for the organisation a percentage of funds received are usually allocated towards administration or running costs. The management team have implemented strategies to ensure we keep our administration charges to a minimum. We achieve this by having the commitment of various investors who support specifically for the purpose of covering administration costs (these funds go into a separate pool reserved for meeting this purpose); by getting volunteers involved and from generous value-in-kind sponsors.
With 90% -100% of your investment going directly to the field projects we are ensuring that your funds will get to the ones who need it most.
Note: All contributions received are fully tax deductible.
At Hopes and Dreams, we don’t think it is enough to make such a statement, we back this up with substantiation. We are prepared to disclose with our investors / donors how their money is spent, where it goes and what it is used for.
Our Partners
Our Sponsors
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
“Very happy, H+D has a strong partner, high standard of integrity, good structure, committed to the cause, has good quality team, working in a needy part of the country”
Silver sponsors
Bronze Sponsor
Sponsorship Levels
Bronze $5,000 – $25,000
Silver $25,001 – $50,000
Gold $50,001 – $100,000
Platinum – >+ $100,001
Value in Kind
Get In Touch
To find more about how you can get involved and make a difference please complete and submit the form below or e-mail us at info@hd.org.au. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
Hopes and Dreams Inc. (Australia)
Contact: Nello Ragusa
Phone: +61 415 110 055
Postal Address: PO Box 712, Reservoir, Victoria 3073 Australia