A Letter from Dr. Vivian Hinchcliffe, Managing Trustee
As you may already know, Mark Roberts, the Founding Trustee of the St. Jude Foundation, passed away in February, just over one year ago. Over the last twelve months it has become clear to us how much time Mark spent running the Foundation, and how hard he worked to raise money for the Heri Special School in Tanzania. Several months before Mark died, he wrote to me to ask if I would be willing to continue the work that he had been doing to support the development of Heri Special School. Without hesitation I replied that I would, and have now become the new Managing Trustee of the Foundation, working alongside Dylan (Mark’s nephew), and Neville (Mark’s brother), who is also a Trustee of the Foundation, and Jillian Orr, who has assisted Mark with the St. Jude Foundation for many years. We have had several meetings throughout 2015 and have had regular communication with Safina Egha, the Headteacher of Heri Special School.
I have had a long association with the St. Jude Foundation and have been a Trustee since 2001. I met Egha Egha, the founder Headteacher of the Heri Special School on his visit to the UK. I understand the context and mission of the school and feel that I am qualified to support the work of the St. Jude Foundation as Managing Trustee. I worked with Mark for many years. As you probably know, Mark was Headteacher of Rectory Paddock School, a school for children with severe learning disabilities. I first worked at Rectory Paddock as a teaching assistant in 1978 before I returned as a teacher in 1981. In 1990 I went to teach at Brunel University, training teachers to work with children with severe learning disabilities. I returned as Headteacher of Rectory Paddock when Mark retired in 1996 and spent the next 15 years building upon Mark’s inspirational work. Mark was a great influence in my career and knew more about special education than anyone I knew. In 2011 I moved to Lewisham to be Executive Headteacher of Drumbeat School and ASD Service, a new special school for children and young people with autism.
The core part of the St. Jude Foundation’s work is to support the work of the Heri Special School in Mporoto, Tanzania. I have written a short report (see above) to update you about how some of the funds that have been raised have been used to make improvements to the school.
If anyone would like to contact me directly, my mobile number is 07973 674066. We would be very keen to know what you think about the work of the St. Jude Foundation and any suggestions you may have about raising money for the Heri Special School. The address and phone number for the St. Jude Foundation have now changed. Please find the new details on our contact page.
Thank you for any support that you have provided to the St. Jude Foundation in the past. Many thanks to Neville, Dylan and Jillian for maintaining the impetus of Mark’s valuable work. It means a great deal to me to step into Mark’s shoes once again, like I did at Rectory Paddock School.
Best wishes for the New Year,
Dr Vivian Hinchcliffe,
Managing Trustee, The St. Jude Foundation