Patrons

   Hon Julius Nye Cuffie, MP (Sierra Leone) 

Honourable Julius Nye Cuffie is the first trained and qualified disabled lawyer in Sierra Leone. He is also the first disabled Honourable Member of Parliament (MP) in Sierra Leone (SL), elected at the August 2007 parliamentary elections.

Julius works in disability rights advocacy for a number of national and international organisations including the Disability Awareness Action Group, Ministry of Social Welfare, the Law Reform Commission, the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, the Law Officers Department of Sierra Leone, the Sierra Leone Bar Association, Leonard Cheshire Disability (SL), Mercy Ships and Handicap International.

As MP, Julius' burning desire is to successfully table a bill in Parliament "Persons with Disabilities Act". As the first Patron of DST, Julius will lend his credibility and high profile support to the charity, helping with fundraising, campaigning and public relations.

   Peter Penfold, CMG, OBE  

Retired diplomat, former British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone.

Before his retirement in January 2002 Peter Penfold was a member of the British Diplomatic Service for 38 years, most of which time was spent serving in, or in contact with, Africa and the Caribbean (especially Commonwealth countries), covering all aspects of diplomatic life. He was responsible for advising and implementing policy on relations with Africa and the Caribbean, including conflict prevention/resolution the administration of Britain's overseas territories, and combating the drugs problem. He served in various "hotspots" around the world, witnessing several coups, insurrections, civil wars, kidnappings and hurricanes, and oversaw several successful evacuations of the British and international communities. He was awarded the CMG (1995) and OBE (1986).

1997-2000
British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone

He was closely identified with the country's attempts to embrace democracy and achieve stability and lasting peace. His experiences brought him into face to face negotiations with rebels and close contact with local and international humanitarian and emergency agencies. He worked closely with the United Nations, with members of the international community, and with British and African military forces. Twice evacuated, he spent 10 months running his mission from a hotel room in neighbouring Guinea. In recognition of his efforts he was appointed a Paramount Chief by the Sierra Leone people and made a Freeman of the city of Freetown.

The DST Trustees

   Abs Dumbuya, Chairman/Fundraising

Abdulai (Abs) Dumbuya is a Volunteer Chairman of the DST and devotes some of his spare time trying to change the plight of disabled people in Sierra Leone. Abs is disabled himself and with anonymous funding from Mrs. Dorothy Springer (hence the name of the Trust), he was able to go to university where he obtained a BEng (Hons.) in Engineering and PhD in Traffic Modelling and Simulation, both from Loughborough University. This life-changing generosity has given Abs the opportunity to become independent through gainful employment and making important contributions to society.

   Andrew Brown, Secretary

Andrew Brown is Associate Director, Information Management at Northamptonshire Primary Care Trust, where he has spent the last 11 years. Andrew is a very strong supporter of Abs, whom he met in Kettering in 1993. As Secretary of the Dorothy Springer Trust, Andrew is keen to see the charity moving forward and making real impact on the lives of disabled people in Sierra Leone. Andrew lives in Kettering with his wife and two young children.    

   Rob Lea, Treasurer

Rob spent 25 years working for ICI in sales, marketing and training, where his job required him to travel to many countries around the world. Before he left ICI in 2000, he spent 2 years on secondment in Singapore as Marketing Manager for Asia. Since 2000 he has been self employed as a business and training consultant.

These days he spends much of his time on voluntary work. In addtion to his work with the DST, he is the treasurer and one of the leaders at Easthampstead Baptist Church in Bracknell.

   Margaret Atkins, Advisor

Margaret is the daughter of Dorothy Springer. She spent 25 years as the Administrator of a small private VIth Form College with an international student body before taking early retirement in 1996 to care for her disabled husband who died in 2005. She is now very involved with groups in Our Lady of Victories RC Church in Market Harborough, particularly the Third World Group, as well as giving time to her family and to hobbies such as gardening, learning a new language and travelling.   

   Mark O'kelly, Advisor

Mark O'kelly is Finance Director of Childhood First, a charity that works with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties in the UK. Before that he spent 14 years with Leonard Cheshire International, supporting the development of services for disabled people around the world. During his time with Leonard Cheshire Mark made a number of visits to Sierra Leone and other countries in Africa. Mark lives in London with his wife and two children.

   Mary Calvert, Advisor

Mary Calvert is the widow of Brian Calvert, aviation expert and pioneer Concorde pilot, who was Abdulai's friend and mentor since he first met him at the Leonard Cheshire Home. Mary is a professional toy inventor.

The DST Volunteers

Ko Sakamoto, UK Volunteer (Developmental Economics)

Samuel McEdwards, Sierra Leone Volunteer (IT specialist)

The Strechemesser Family, Volunteer