We share our huge thanks to two longstanding trustees who are retiring from WATSAN’s Board, and welcome three new trustees.
We are delighted to announce the appointment of three new trustees, who have joined WATSAN’s UK Support team:
Adrian Hawthorn has spent 25 years working as a project manager in the finance sector. Adrian joined Tearfund in 2006 as Donor Lead, securing development grants from donors including the EU and DFID. During this time, he visited Kigezi, Uganda, and was impressed with the water and sanitation project work. Recently Adrian has been working part-time for EU-CORD, a network of Christian INGO’s based in Europe. He attends St Marks Church Holbrook and is a youth leader. Adrian is married to Fran, lives in Horsham, has two married children and three grandchildren.
Emmanuel Turyamuhaki is Senior IT Project Engineer at construction firm Laing O’Rourke, and is based in Kent, UK after relocating from Kigezi in WATSAN’s project area in Uganda. Emmanuel is Vice-Chair of the UK chapter of ICOB: the International Community of Banyakigezi, where he is involved in a number of philanthropic activities ranging from education and social services to health. Before moving to the UK he worked in the Ugandan finance sector. Emmanuel is married to Bessie and has two children.
James Hunt has been the Rector of St Peter’s Church in Bishop’s Waltham, Hampshire since 2008. There he leads a community of people who believe that church should be a place to make friends, have fun and experience God together. He has led two trips to Uganda to visit and support the WATSAN project. James is married to Rebecca and has three children.
Two other Board members have stepped down from their official trustee duties, and are involved in WATSAN in a less formal capacity as associates and general supporters:
Ellie Bensted has been WATSAN’s Secretary since the charity was founded by her husband Ian in 2004. During her 20+ years involvement with WATSAN, Ellie has built and stewarded our base of donors, resulting in over £1m in donations during our history. She has administered the charity’s governance, and hosted and minuted hundreds of trustee meetings. She has organised many successful fundraising events, from weekend-long walks for water to our anniversary tea party in 2024. Without Ellie and Ian, who handed over WATSAN’s Chair to Graham Piper last year, WATSAN simply would not exist, and over 200,000 people in Uganda would be without water and sanitation.
Andrew Maclean has been a WATSAN trustee since 2013, bringing his expertise as a chartered engineer with 30 years of experience, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, including Rukungiri, where he worked for WaterAid on the project that later became WATSAN. Many of the schemes that WATSAN still supports were Andrew’s original project, and he provided training to several of the engineers still active as part of the project in Uganda.
We cannot thank Ellie and Andrew enough for their astounding 33 combined years of trusteeship of WATSAN Uganda – UK Support, and for their continuing support of WATSAN’s work.
If you are interested in becoming a WATSAN trustee or associate, please do contact us.
WATSAN Uganda 