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Brenda Longstaff (Chair)

Brenda worked initially within local government in committee administration before gaining experience with public relations, fundraising and events management in a busy Mayor’s office. A lengthy period overseas followed with residence in countries in Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia. Upon returning to the UK, Brenda launched an import and retail business and later joined the NHS to work on the Y2K project. Since then she has worked as a commissioning manager for a PFI hospital build and is currently managing Trust charitable funds. Brenda has also been a member of the BBC Radio Advisory Service and a Princes Trust business advisor. For the past six years, she has managed a multi-stranded healthcare link between Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Tanzania and Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust.

Joan Taylor

After nearly 15 years of medical missionary work in Central Tanganyika, Dr Joe Taylor and I arrived at KCMC in January 1971, shortly before the Medical Centre was officially opened.  Dr. Taylor was appointed as the Consultant Ophthalmologist, with a clinic room in Outpatients and an Optometrist as his complete staff!  They had to start planning, raising funds, and supervising the building of the Eye Department to treat both inpatients and outpatients, train eye nurses and medical staff and optometrists, and do outreach work in the northern half of Tanzania.  12 months later Dr. Taylor was asked to be Acting Medical Superintendent as well, until a suitable Tanzanian medical man could be appointed - which occurred in 1974.  Dr Taylor also became a Trustee of the Good Samaritan Foundation, responsible for keeping in contact with Lutheran World Federation and other

international funding and recruiting bodies.  In all this work, I gave a helping hand as needed,  particularly in accounting for all the funding from overseas, and oversight of the staff housing - some 40 units.  Soon I also became one of the 6 GSF directors of the International School Moshi, very much of a "hands on" task as the school was developed from an 8 year primary school with one boarding house into a boarding and day school taking its students up to International Baccalaureate standard, the first such school in Africa.   Dr. Taylor and I continued our involvement with KCMC and ISM until we finally left Moshi in 1988, by which time both institutions had grown beyond recognition!  When we were able to attend the 25th anniversary celebrations in 1996 we were delighted to see how the development had continued, and that the original dream of a Christian Medical College was very near to being achieved, with a faculty of national and international staff in very many disciplines, and yet maintaining its Christian ethos and its outreach service to the wider regions of Tanzania.

Peter Tesha

I am Dr Peter Tesha, Associate Specialist in Ophthalmology working for Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. I was born in Moshi and I did my medical training in Dar es Salam. After working for some years in Tanzania I did post graduate training in London and Dublin. While practising ophthalmology in the UK I got involved with charities helping to restore sight to people in East and West Africa, working for Sight By Wings in Kenya, Uganda and The Congo. I also did some work in India and Ghana. I met Mr David Hunter in 1996, Head of the Ophthalmology Department at KCMC on my visit home, and asked him whether I could help in the department while at home for a month. My request was granted and I have enjoyed working at KCMC ever since. I have also been involved in supporting other eye charities: Second Sight asked me to go to India where I worked in the Upea region. I am also the Chairman

of the Shimbwe Development Trust (which is a charity which was set up to help people in Shimbwe village near Moshi town), helping them to build a secondary school and supplying clean safe drinking water. We also support HIV/Aids orphans by paying their school fees and training. I am also a member of The British Tanzania Society in the UK.

Andrew Sizer

 

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