Our Trustees

Marianne and I used to volunteer for an organisation called AidCamps International which involved taking groups of volunteers to work on projects that they had financed in various countries. One year, Marianne returned from leading a group to Cameroon having had to make a decision about which of two very needy villages should benefit from the following year’s school build project. We decided that we should simply raise money to build whichever school was not chosen by AIdCamps. We raised the necessary amount in just a few months and this was the birth of Building Schools for Africa.

At first we simply called ourselves ‘Schools for Africa’ but when we made the decision to register as a charity, we discovered that this name had already been taken by another UK organisation. So we, together with Nick and Nicky Hayward started on our BSFA adventure with no inkling that we would still be at it 20 years later.

Those intervening years have been interesting, rewarding, frustrating and, at times, a little nerve-wracking. We have been astonished how funds kept coming our way year on year. Our talks and slide presentations of the early years were replaced by on-line fund-raising and we have been so very fortunate to have gathered support from many altruistic individuals and businesses who, it seems, were attracted by our USP of ‘Every penny donated goes to the project’.

Like almost everyone who has visited our projects, especially participating in school opening ceremonies, I have time and time again been overwhelmed by the vitality, exuberance, tenacity and downright joie de vivre of the Cameroonian people, especially the children. Allied to this a sense of awe at what our partners, SHUMAS, have been able to achieve with such limited resources and in very trying circumstances. I have vivid memories of Marianne and myself, whilst on an extended visit in 2009, trying desperately to complete a grant application to Guiness Water for Life fund. We had an old laptop, intermittent electricity supply, no WiFi, no printer and no paper and no telephone signal and the deadline was only a few hours away. We realised then that this was what SHUMAS staff had to cope with every day. We were unsuccessful in our bid by the way.

So what has BSFA meant to me? I think the overarching impression is that of being part of something a lot larger than myself. Whilst our, or perhaps I should say, my efforts often seem, perhaps a bit half-hearted, it is truly salutary to see what has been achieved over the past 20 years. The schools, health centres, water projects, neighbourhood learning centres, economic empowerment of single parent mothers and humanitarian aid for those fleeing the terrors of war. I am aware that with our help, SHUMAS has had a positive impact on tens of thousands of people. Lives changed for the better. Hope given where once there was none.

I think it’s been worthwhile and I’d like to carry on for as long as possible.

I have been a trustee with BSFA since 2014 and I am constantly in awe of how efficient and effective our NGO SHUMAS is. With out them and our incredible and generous donors, BSFA could not have helped so many children access education and improved health. Even during the civil war SHUMAS found ways to use donations to support the internally displaced families manage their trauma, and widows often looking after orphans as well as their own children, to start businesses to then be able to rent a home and pay school fees.

I visited Cameroon with Marianne a founding member, and Clea Gompels a loyal supporter, in 2015 to open schools she and Cliff of Positech games had funded. Understandably, there is such joy at these school openings.

Marianne and I started the 10 year impact assessment (which SHUMAS staff then completed ), of some of the many schools of all religious denominations and government schools where BSFA provided funds for the tin rooves and concrete floors, also health centres where we helped fund equipment they needed.

The schools parent groups, spoke of the pride of being involved in the building of the new classrooms, toilets and access to clean water, resulting in less illness leading to better school attendance. That these buildings were sometimes used for the benefit of the community for other events. They told me the age of marriage of the girls who had access to education increased from mid teens to early twenties. It is well documented education results in smaller healthier families.

As a result of the men in the communities working together to build the classrooms they went onto helping each other on their farms.

A woman in each community would be given a loan and support to start a small business and in return oversaw cleaning of the school. Usually involving the children the parent group told me how often this resulted in children being proud and wanting to clean and tidy their own homes.

The nurses at health centres told me the impact of providing needed equipment for health centres, meant qualified nurses could be attracted, who educated and worked with the native healers, leading to better neonatal outcomes and more children vaccinated. This increased numbers attending the clinics, increasing revenue to pay and retain staff.

So in summary It means alot being part of BSFA, supporting SHUMAS to give so many children of Cameroon a chance in life. In turn they will want to help others, because that is the gold that makes all our lives worthwhile

I began supporting Building Schools for Africa (BSFA) in 2013, inspired by a deep desire to create a lasting legacy in memory of my parents, who had quietly devoted so much of their lives to supporting good causes and fundraising for others. When I discovered BSFA through a Google search and spoke to Marianne, the trustee and secretary, something simply clicked. By the end of that conversation, I felt in my heart that we had found exactly the right charity, and I told my two sisters that this was the one.

I then had the opportunity to travel to Cameroon with Marianne and my nephew to witness the opening of the school we had funded. It was a truly life-changing experience. Seeing first-hand the extraordinary work of our partners in Cameroon, the NGO SHUMAS, led by Stephen and Billian Ndzerem, left a lasting impression on me. The difference these projects were making to people’s lives, through something as fundamental as a safe school, access to clean water, or a health centre, was deeply moving. To see such profound change achieved for the cost of a small family car was both humbling and inspiring.

When I returned to England, I came back with a renewed sense of purpose and determination. I knew I wanted to do more, and with the wonderful support of family and friends, I set about fundraising for another school.

What made it even more special was having the support of my wife and our two young children, whose fundraising efforts have never really stopped. Over the years, this has included sponsored walks, triathlons, endurance swimming, and charity balls. One of my proudest moments came when I visited the opening of a school with my family. During a meeting held by BSFA and SHUMAS with the Cameroonian Secretary of State for Education, my children were asked why they cared so deeply about supporting children living thousands of miles away. Their answer was thoughtful and heartfelt: they knew how fortunate they were to attend well-equipped schools in Birmingham and to want for nothing, and they felt it was only right to think of children in Cameroon who did not have the same opportunities. In that moment, I could not have been prouder.

 Whichever way you look at it, the work of BSFA and SHUMAS represents extraordinary value, but more importantly, it transforms lives. I had the privilege of returning to one of the schools we supported, Kishiy, where I helped BSFA with an impact assessment. Before the rebuild, the school was simply not a safe or suitable place for children to learn. During the rainy season, water leaked through the roof, and there was a constant fear that the building might collapse. To see what has happened since the new school was built was nothing short of remarkable. Every child passed the common entrance exams, and there was a visible improvement in both behaviour and attitude. Something as basic as having enough space to sit comfortably and concentrate, with two children to a bench rather than four, had made a world of difference.

The impact reached beyond education alone. Hygiene improved significantly, with a notable reduction in diarrhoea, coughs, and dysentery, and absenteeism fell from 15% to just 2–3%.

The new buildings also became a resource for the wider community, including women’s groups who now use the classrooms for health education, extending the benefit far beyond the children themselves.

When I reflect on all of this, I know without question that every bit of effort put into the fundraising was worthwhile.

After retiring from the NHS in 2022, I was invited to join the Board of Trustees, which felt like both a great honour and a deeply meaningful continuation of a journey that had already given me so much.