Mark Tilley

I'm thrilled to be a trustee of the charity started in my dad's name. I've been involved in his African adventures for a long time, and viited Tanzania for the first time back in 1996. My aunt, Liz Tilley, has spent her whole career in east Africa as a missionary and, with several trips out to see her by family members, I think it's rubbed off on the whole family.

 

I see my role in the David Tilley Children's Foundation as a hance to help continue the work that my dad started and to steer the charity towards helping disadvantaged children reach their potential. My vision is to encourage others to go to Africa, to see for themselves how they can make a difference, to be inspired.

Helen Tilley

My late husband is David Tilley. The charity was set up during 2010 in his name, so that the work of supporting St Michael’s School would continue into the future. He and I, along with teams of volunteers from the UK and elsewhere, went out each summer to build classrooms, also student and teacher accommodation, in the highlands at Kilolo, Tanzania. We were there to lay the foundations of the first classroom, having to clear shrubland, dig the foundations and lay the first bricks. We watched as the school progressed over the years and grew into the amazing school it is today, educating and giving hope and a future to so many young African children. It has been, and still is, a privilege to be part of this ongoing work.

Matt Calvert

I have known the Tilley family for well over 25 years so when David Tilley asked me to be a Trustee and it was a no brainier.

I spent the first 7 years of my life in Zambia and 25+ years of my career as a youth worker in north Kings Cross. Young people are our future and hugely important they need to be invested in, cared for and listened too regardless of where they are in the world. If I can make a difference in this way in the future well-being and potential of young people then it’s an absolute pleasure and honour.

 

Richard Gill

Richard Gill has been a trustee of the David Tilley Children’s Foundation since its inception in 2010. His involvement with St Michael’s School in Kilolo, Tanzania, goes back to 2002 when he and his wife Jane were first part of a Soapbox volunteer team led by the late David Tilley, tasked with the ongoing project of building the school. Richard and Jane subsequently took over the leadership of the Soapbox teams which continued to visit on an annual basis, and were joined in the work by teams from other organisations from both UK and Australia. Classrooms, staff houses, hostels, a library and an administration block were all completed and the school took its first students in 2005. Richard and his wife continue to sponsor a pupil at the school, the sponsorship programme enabling gifted students whose families cannot afford school fees to benefit from a secondary education.

Abigail King

I got involved with the charity after a planned trip to build classrooms in Kenya with my school was cancelled due to covid. After finding out more about the work of the charity, the meaningful difference it makes in the lives of young people, I readily agreed to serve as a trustee. I’ve been focusing on developing the charity’s online presence, including the website and facebook. I’m currently studying PPE at Edinburgh university, and have a keen interest in international affairs and development.

Tony Vaughan

Having been inspired by both David Tilley and his project to develop a new secondary school in Kilolo; Sue and I led a 10 person team there in August 2009, to construct a teacher’s house (funded by the Rotary Club of Storrington & Pulborough District). This led to our further involvement in setting up the David Tilley Children’s Foundation and subsequently to David asking me to become a Trustee. A chartered civil engineer, I have managed road and hospital construction projects in Africa as well as port projects in the UK, Middle East and south pacific. We have travelled reasonably extensively in east, central and southern Africa, areas that we have very fond memories of, and a desire to continue our involvement with.

Matthew Wykes

I was invited to be a Trustee by Mark Tilley in 2014. I had been aware of The David Tilley Children’s Foundation when David and Helen came to my Rotary Club to present on their achievements. I am delighted to have been asked to be a Trustee and I am passionate about playing my part in developing the foundation in the future.

 

Among the many things we do as a charity, I have also helped to prepare a group of young people from the UK to go to Tanzania for a life changing expedition and help them focus on changing their lives, and those around them upon their return. I regularly support 3 charities and, with my business acumen from my own business to 18 years in a global multi-national company, I enjoy contributing to support the charity’s objectives.

 

As a Trustee, I am committed to finding the means, both physically and financially, to assist the development of the children and the environment in which they are taught in order to make at least one part of Africa stronger, more resilient and developing stronger every year.