Introduction to the 2016 Team

DAVID BENTLEY

Hi my name is David Bentley, and I'm again excited to be going with St Andrew's Church to Hands at Work in South Africa.  I currently live in Harrogate where I run my own Mechanics Business.   

I spent three and a half years out with Hands at Work, so having the opportunity to go back with a team is fantastic! I first went out to hands in February 2010, originally for 9 months which turned out to be three and a half years! The experiences I had, people I met, the work I have seen God is doing out there, the places I have been, and the help that Hands at Work brings to the communities is truly amazing.  These are all things that I will never forget and will stay with me for life. I think about Hands at Work everyday, the hard work that the volunteers do and the help that this brings to the community; so the opportunity to go back again and to experience all this is brilliant.  

I went with the 2016 team on their team building day on the barge last month and saw the team work together so well. It now only a week until we  leave I know this trip will be life changing for you all, and the support and encouragement you will bring to the communities will be something money cannot buy. There will be times where you laugh, times you will find hard, and times your out of your comfort zone but a ll of this is part of the experience.

  

David

Introduction to the 2016 Team

VAUGHAN JOHNSON

I took early retirement from my professional life in Primary Education - as headteacher, adviser and inspector - over twelve years ago, and soon afterwards moved to Biggleswade.  I have been actively involved in St Andrew’s church ever since, and have kept direct links with education as a governor of Edward Peake Church of England Middle School… already actively supporting children in Siyathuthuka.  I am committed to lifelong education, and practical self-help solutions which are effective and sustainable in the long-term with minimal cost to the environment.  I support work programmes at the Christian retreat centres Lee Abbey (Devon) and Scargill House (N Yorks Dales) on a regular basis; I am a lifelong allotmenteer and compulsive ‘D-I-Y’er!  For a number of years I was closely involved in a street children charity which included a ‘youth to youth’ element and the building of education and training centres.

Both as an individual and as a member of the PCC, I strongly supported last year’s Room trip to Siyathuthuka.  The team’s commitment as they prepared to go, their reports during and after the visit, and the obvious impact of the experiences they had, impressed me hugely.  Together with my daughter’s several years working for charities in Africa at the end of her university career, the very sound approach & philosophy of Hands at Work convinced me I should put aside the natural caution of my advancing years and undergo the experience for myself.  As an inveterate doer and provider of solutions, I am apprehensive about my capacity to look, listen, feel and be instead of my usual see, advise, show and do, but I do understand the sound reasons why, and will try very hard!

Introduction to the 2016 Team

CHRIS WYCHERLEY

I have just retired from teaching maths to adult students in a college of further education in Wolverhampton. I have moved to Anglesey with my husband, Clive, so that we can enjoy the amazing countryside and coast line of North Wales.

My husband and I were also heavily involved in Scouting in Wolverhampton, working at first with cubs (age 8 to 10years) and then with Explorer Scouts (age 14 to 18 years). I am therefore used to working with young people and committing on a voluntary basis. I was also a member, for over twenty years, of the St. Chad’s bell ringers at my local church before moving to Wales.

I am really looking forward to working with a different group of people and experiencing a way of life completely different to my own. I hope that I can make a positive contribution to the work of Hands and show that ordinary people from different parts of the world care about the work that they are doing. Hopefully I will then be able to spread knowledge of this work within my own community and come home with a greater understanding and knowledge of another culture, with falls in with the scouting ethos, that we are all members of a worldwide family.

Introduction to the 2016 Team

MARK THOMAS

My name is Mark, I am married with two children. I volunteer  at one of St Andrews Church youth club's each week and have supported many children and young people over the past several years.

I am  school based Social Worker and Trainee Counsellor and work in a school in Bedford. It's a great environment to work in with some challenging children along with some fantastic and unique individuals.

I have volunteered over many years supporting vulnerable children and families, I have always wanted to develop this volunteering but in another country and this trip to South Africa gives me that opportunity. To have the opportunity to support the Care Workers, children and families within some of the communities I hope to gain a different insight to how others experience hardship. I have always strived to empower others to fully achieve their own potential and I hope to have the opportunity to do this whilst on this journey. I may even empower myself through the enrichment of others diversity and culture. This maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity for me so I have to make it worthwhile and embrace any challenges it brings.

With the support of my family and friends and the people I am making this journey with I hope to grow both spiritually and emotionally.

Introduction to the 2016 Team

CLIVE WYCHERLEY

I have just retired from for an engineering company in Wolverhampton, working as a software engineer. I have moved to Anglesey with my wife, Chris, so that we can enjoy the amazing countryside and coast line of North Wales.

My wife and I were also heavily involved in Scouting in Wolverhampton, working at first with cubs (age 8 to 10years) and then with Explorer Scouts (age 14 to 18 years). I am therefore used to working with young people and committing on a voluntary basis.

I am really looking forward to working with a different group of people and experiencing a way of life completely different to my own. I hope that I can make a positive contribution to the work of Hands and show that ordinary people, from different parts of the world, care about the work that they are doing. Hopefully I will then be able to spread knowledge of this work within my own community and come home with a greater understanding and knowledge of another culture, which falls in with the scouting ethos, that we are all members of a worldwide family.