In what will become a regular feature to our Blog posts, we would like to introduce you to some of the people, without whom, none of the hard work at the Future of Taru would be possible.
Over the coming months we will be bringing you some special blog posts, introducing you to our Trustees and also some of the teaching and other staff in Taru.
And first up, what better way to start than with a double header; our Founder Paul Moffat, and his Sister and Trustee Lisa!
Meet the Trustee: Paul Moffat
What is your name: Paul Moffat
Where are you based?: Carlisle, Cumbria
What is your “day-to-day” job?: Deputy Chief Executive for Age UK Carlisle and Eden
How long have you been a trustee/supporter of Future of Taru?: Since the outset……Eunice and I first met some of the kids and families in Taru 6 years ago, and started sponsoring Joy Grace Wanjiru as the first child who started Future Of Taru
What does your role involve?: Organising the day to day operations of the charity, ensuring sponsorship and other incomes meet the needs of the organisational daily spend in Taru, puting together the Strategic Plan each year, preparing the finances monthly and submitting them annually, tracking all sponsorship and fundraising, communicating with sponsors, advising on updates to the website, almost anything and everything
What inspired you to become a trustee?: My inspiration to set up Future Of Taru as a project initially was seeing so many children smiling and content with nothing much in their lives, but without being able to afford education
What has been your favourite moment so far with Future of Taru?: So many moments, however I always look forward to and enjoy our annual celebration party for the kids, and I was overwhelmed and in tears when we received our first big funding pot of £30k which enabled us to achieve so much development of the school even during the covid 19 pandemic – thank you to Carole Ann Somerville for doing the funding application, and to the Gwyneth Forrester Trust for the funds and their trust in us.
Are you involved with any other charities?: None
What was your favourite subject at school?: Maths and Football
What is a fun fact about you that might surprise people?: I ran the London Marathon in 4 hours 40 minutes
Meet the Trustees: Lisa Moffat
What is your name: Lisa Moffat
Where are you based?:
Carlisle, Cumbria, UK.
What is your “day-to-day” job?: I work on the appointments team for a company offering mobile MRI scans around the North of England. I’ve only been doing the job for 2 weeks. I’m very lucky to be based at home, so I get to spend every day with my lovely dog, Floyd.
How long have you been a trustee/supporter of Future of Taru?: I’ve been a supporter since the very beginning. How long have I been a trustee…? Now you’re asking! About 2-3 years, I would say. It’s difficult to keep track of time.
What does your role involve?: Helping to make decisions, ensuring the organisation is run with the best interests of the children of FOTA at heart. It’s also good to try to get a bit of fundraising in, if possible. I’m not big on social media so my preferred attempts at fundraising are bids to organisations.
What inspired you to become a trustee?: As my brother is the founder of FOTA, I had an interest in the organisation from the start. As the organisation grew, it became evident that ideas needed to be discussed and decisions made in a wider forum, to ensure actions taken were in the best interests of the children and fulfilled the organisation’s mission statement.
What has been your favourite moment so far with Future of Taru?: That has to be, without a shadow of a doubt, actually visiting the school and interacting with the children. I have a background in drama. I therefore wrote some short plays and worked on these with the children, which they performed to an audience. This was an incredibly rewarding experience. What was noteworthy was their enthusiasm, sense of fun and retention of the script (even though it wasn’t written in their first language). I remember, during my stay, the children were determined to teach me a few Swahili words and tested me on a daily basis! Despite all they are up against, these children/young adults were welcoming and receptive, positive and willing to learn. It was one of the most humbling experiences of my life.
Are you involved with any other charities?: Not now but I have been. I was the Secretary of Carlisle Green Room Club (a local amateur dramatics society) and, before that, I was the Secretary of the local Cats Protection branch. Being a secretary suits me, as I was a secretary for many years in my professional life!
What was your favourite subject at school?: Probably English. Although, if I’m honest, I wasn’t a big fan of school at all.
What is a fun fact about you that might surprise people?: I don’t know if this is a ‘fun’ fact but I solve the Rubik’s Cube on a daily basis. My record for solving it is 1 minute 27 seconds. I solve it daily because it is a skill that would quickly disappear if not regularly practised!