Lessons  |
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Help educate children in developing countries
Lessons for Life Trustees and Representatives
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Mark O'Dowd
Trustee
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I am a 44 year old Scotsman who has worked in the
IT industry occupying management roles. For the past 17 years
I’ve worked and lived
in a few overseas countries whilst travelling to many more. In
September 2004, I had the great opportunity to take a short placement
to Uganda with VSO. During this time, I
gained a first hand appreciation of the day to day challenges faced by
many in a developing country.
I’ve been motivated to get involved
with “Lessons for Life” as I believe that the
majority of people I know want to help people of developing countries
but that they believe it can often be done more effectively by ensuring
funding gets to where it is intended and that we invest in the future,
i.e. in educating more people. With more skills and ability, only they
can make a lasting difference.
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Mike Lloyd
Trustee and Treasurer
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I am a 42 year old
Chartered Accountant and have spent 8 years working and travelling in
many different countries throughout the World. I spent nearly 2 years
in Nigeria and have
visited many other African countries including Uganda, Kenya, Senegal,
Zaire (as was), Togo, and Benin. This
has given me the chance to see first-hand the difficulties often faced
by communities and individuals and the enthusiasm with which they will
make the most of the opportunities they have.
I have always been
connected to the world of education as both my parents were teachers,
and my Mum is the co-author of Jolly Phonics (a popular method for
teaching children to read).
I
now live and work in Windsor but
continue to travel extensively. I
have many happy memories of seeing children in schools overseas and
know that for a relatively small amount of money, many more children
can have that opportunity. This is what makes me passionate about what
Lessons for Life can achieve.
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Umesh Patel
Trustee
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I was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1964 and
raised in Rugby, England from a very young age. I am now working in the
City of London as a Development Manager with over 22 years in
the IT business. I have had the pleasure and the opportunity of
travelling to many different countries. In more recent years, I have
added South Africa,
Uganda and Rwanda to the places I have visited.
It is my family
background that has led me to
become a trustee of Lessons for Life. My parents initially moved from
India to Africa raising a family of five under difficult circumstances,
partly due to the
limited education they had available when they were young. But through
hard work and endeavour, they gave me the opportunity and the
encouragement to
succeed. They taught me to work hard at my studies when I was young and
to continue doing so as I was growing up.
To
this day, I still uphold these traditional values and it is with these
thoughts that I want to provide others with the same opportunities for
education and future success.
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