"One day in February 1978 as I came out of the Parish Church after Mass in Batlagundu, the then Parish Priest, Father Michael, brought me four small children, three girls and one boy who was five years old.  I was then at Boys’ Village.  The mother had died of TB and the father died of starvation trying to keep the children alive.  At Boys’ Village we did not take girls nor boys younger than seven.  I told this to the Priest and got on my motorbike to go back to Boys’ Village.  Half way there a 'voice' told me to go and get those children.  My response was, 'What will I do with them?'   Again the 'voice' said, 'you will be shown'. Thirty years ago this is how our whole family-care system started.

We employed a lady to be the 'mother' of this family and gave her a small house at Boys’ Village.  In the years to come the families increased to 95 and moved away from Boys’ Village to several centres. Now we have four Children’s Villages, four teenage girls hostels, two boys’ hostels including one for HIV+ teenage boys, 110 children in residential schools, 90 doing advanced professional students, many already employed or married.  Altogether there are 955 boys and girls in our present full-time care.

And all this started with one small orphaned family."

Brother James

 Our UK Trustees and Staff

Martin Henry (Chair of Trustees)

I lived in India for 12 1/2 years between 1968 and 1981 running the Indian branch of a multinational textile company.  8 of these years were in Madurai where I first met Brother James Kimpton who was initially working in the de la Salle Boys Town at Nagamalai.  He in fact held my youngest child in his arms at her christening. After 28 years I left the textile company in 1985 and started a company called Lastolite which makes light modifying equipment for photographers.   

In the early 1990s  I became interested in further education and the so-called skills deficit so I became Chairman of Leicestershire Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) and a member of the TEC national council, a director of Investors in People and set up The Centre for Enterprise which specifically concerned itself with the 'skills agenda' in small to medium enterprises.  I have now withdrawn from these activities and limit myself to RTU and an Indian textile company which pays for my flights to India to attend meetings.

Richard Adams (Trustee)

I first visited India in 1972 when I was planning an agricultural imports company. A lot has changed since than but the needs of poor and excluded remain and challenge us all. I first met Brother James in 1982 not long after I started Traidcraft, the fair trade company. I was looking for crafts from projects in India and RTU had just started a batik workshop. I was so impressed with what was happening that I kept in touch over the years and eventually became a trustee.  I’ve been privileged to be able to travel to many countries in the developing world and see hundreds of aid, development and community programmes. For me, RTU remains absolutely outstanding. 

I live in Northumberland and spend quite  a lot of time working in Brussels with the EU on social and environmental issues. I’m also a non-executive director of our primary care trust and a trustee of another charity that helps refugees and asylum seekers.

Ian Brady (Trustee)

I was a volunteer with Brother James in India from 1981 to 1983. I was based at Boys Village and amongst other things ran the sponsorship programme for the boys and drove the first ambulance as part of the then village health programme.  I have maintained contact over the years through the work of my mothers’ parish group (PAID) in Scotland which has raised money for RTU.

With my family (I am married with two sons) I went out to see Brother James in 2008 for the first time since my stint as a volunteer. He asked me on return to make contact with RTU UK and see if there was any way in which I could help. 

I am currently Deputy Director of the Youth Task Force based at the Department for Children, Schools and Families. I have been working for the Government since 1997, initially as an adviser on homelessness at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. I also spent 4 years at the Home Office working as part of the Respect Task Force. Before this I worked for some 15 years in the charity world: most of this time was with the national youth homelessness charity Centrepoint.

I am originally from Scotland but have lived in London since 1984. I am an FA qualified football coach and coach for my local club youth teams in my spare time.

Gordon Heald (Trustee)

I was a pupil at St Peter’s De La Salle School in Bournemouth - where Brother James taught before going overseas and where I first heard of his work. I became a trustee in about 1970.  I visited Madurai 1980 and 1984 and I was very impressed by the work of Brother James.

I was Managing Director of Gallup Poll from 1964 to 1984 and then set up my own company, Opinion Research Business. I have also set up another company, Russian Research, and during 2007-8 we worked for the EU in Eastern Europe. Previously I have conducted opinion polling for Mrs Thatcher, President Reagan and Prime Minister Gorbachev. Currently (2008) my company ORB is working in Iraq and we are interviewing about 1,000 Iraqis each month.

I have also been a trustee at One Plus One for ten years and we conduct research into family relationships today.

Margaret Henry (Trustee)

My attachment to India goes back a long way.  My mother and father met in India and were married in Delhi.  My two brothers were born in Baluchistan though I was born later - in Aldershot.  We returned to India when I was 3 and left again when I was 5.   Like Martin, my husband, I lived in India for 12 1/2 years between 1968 and 1981 and got to know Brother James and his work during that time.  While in India I was very involved with the Mother Teresa home in Madurai and also an organisation called Seva Nilayam founded by Dora Scarlett.  This was a clinic in an isolated area of South India quite close to where RTU India is now.  I was also on the committee of the Cheshire Home for Incurables. I taught at both primary and secondary school level in Madurai for 8 years. 

When RTU UK was formed I became one of the founding members and during its lifetime have been secretary, treasurer and chair.   

Because my daughter and grandson now live in Bangalore I have continued to visit India and so have been able to visit RTU and keep in touch with Brother James' work. I graduated in fine art at Loughborough University at the age of 68.

Mike Jellicoe (Trustee and Treasurer)

I spent a year in India in the early seventies.  Six months of that time was spent with the totally inspiring Brother James Kimpton.  I learnt so much from his simple faith and direct loving action to those in need that when he began his Reaching the Unreached work along with other committed supporters we formed the UK charity..... twenty-five years later I'm still here! 

I am a Chartered Accountant with my own practice in Solihull.  I specialise in providing services to charities.  I work from home so my daily commute is walking the dog round the park.

Girish Menon (Trustee)

I am an Indian, currently living in the UK since 2005. I work for WaterAid, a charity, as its International Operations Director. For over four years, from 1989 to 1993, I was fortunate to work with Brother James Kimpton. I was Assistant Director of RTU in India and worked very closely with Brother James and his team to reach out to the thousands of poor and vulnerable people in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. I was inspired by the passion and commitment of Brother James and his dedicated team to address the numerous needs of infants, children, disabled people, elderly people, destitute women and a number of other instances that needed somebody to reach out and help, to enable them stand on their own feet and lead a healthy and dignified life. I am delighted that I now have a different kind of an opportunity to remain engaged with RTU’s work and continue to be inspired by its mission.

After 3 years of living in London, I am getting used to life here, though different in many ways. My wife and my twin sons - who are now in secondary school - have also settled down to living in London. Last year, as a family, we visited RTU. It was the first time for our children to see the work there, and they came back deeply conscious of the multiple disadvantages that many people in that part of the world live in!

James Playfair (Trustee)

I visited India for the first time only a few years ago and found it to be a most exciting place to be. Since then I have returned several times to visit an HIV-AIDS Hospice in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu; and then twice in 2008 to visit Brother James and Reached the Unreached.

The total self-giving dedication of Brother James, Father Antony and all those at RTU are, as I found it, an inspiration to any of us privileged to hear of them, to visit, and to stay. So inspiring indeed that I am really pleased to be offered the chance to perhaps contribute some more as a trustee and to support those amazing people in that part of India.

I have been a general practitioner in Bath for twenty seven years. I am part of the community who worship at Bath Abbey and have a particular interest in the work overseas that we support there.

Brother Matthew Sasse (Trustee)

I have worked as a volunteer with various dyslexia charities for over 20 years. Each Wednesday I answer emails and phone calls about dyslexia on the National Helpline. Recently I have helped in fundraising for a children's hospice, Helen House. For 15 years I was a teacher in primary schools. Since then I have acted as a dyslexia consultant both here and in Malta. I also acted as chairman of a committee looking after 100 local dyslexia associations in the nineties.

My interest in RTU has existed ever since I became a De La Salle Brother like Brother James Kimpton, the founder of RTU. Any eccentric conduct on my part can be attributed to my dyslexia, which I discovered over 20 years ago. Since then life has been full of colour and I've indulged my passion for music and theatre.

John Le Sève (Trustee)

In 1983, aged 24, I joined Brother James for a two year ‘gap’ experience.  During my time at RTU I was inspired by the vision, deep understanding, and people and management skills that Brother James has.  It was a very rich and formative time for me, and I developed a passion for the project and for the wonderful people who are being helped by RTU.

Since then I have progressed to leading a Geography department in a large secondary school near Colchester, and I advise on the teaching of Geography in other Essex schools.  With my wife Hilary, I have brought up two daughters who are completing secondary school education.  A concern for development issues generally, and RTU in particular, have always been at the forefront in family and work life.

Over the New Year 2009 I was proud to introduce my family to Brother James, Father Antony, and the many people at RTU who I had worked with 25 years ago.  The project has grown impressively yet still emanates a sense of love and care for the individual.  I feel honoured to be appointed as a trustee.

Thomas Williams (Trustee)

I first met Brother James at the age of five, when my family lived in India. He visited my parents and I remember him dowsing the site of a well over a map of a small village in Spain! Since then I've been back to India twice. The first time was after leaving school at the age of 17, when I spent three months volunteering at RTU. I was back most recently as part of a medical elective. During my times there I'm  been incredibly impressed by the commitment of those who work at RTU, and by  the simplicity and clarity of their vision: helping those who need it the most.

I completed a BA in Archaeology and Anthropology in Oxford in 2004. After spending a year working in hospitals in Oxfordshire, I am now completing a Graduate Entry Course in Medicine at Cambridge. I hope to return to India once I have qualified.