Who we are
Andrew Shepherd
Chairman of Board of Trustees
Andrew is married to Mari; they have 3 adult children, all married, and 5 grandchildren.
He is a retired General Medical Practitioner, having served on various Government Medical Boards, as well as acting as a Medico-legal Expert in his own consultancy business.
He has over 40 years of Trustee experience in a number of different Christian charities. He worked for 4 months in Mvumi Hospital, Tanzania in 2003, and, together with Mari, he has also had the privilege of serving God in Mozambique. They have visited Africa many times together.
He served as a Church Elder for many years; he is also an active member of GideonsUK.
Mari Shepherd
Trustee
Mari is married to Andrew; they have 3 adult children, all married, and 5 grandchildren.
She is a qualified Nurse and has past Trustee experience in a Nursery for Able-bodied and Special Needs children, as well as holding a Company Directorship in the family business in the past.
They both have been closely associated with Compassion UK as advocates over many years and have jointly sponsored many children around the world. Along with Andrew, she is actively involved in GideonsUK.
Both Andrew and Mari share a passion for serving God amongst disadvantaged folk around the world, and have both been involved in short-term mission projects, both at home and abroad.
Anne Basabe
Anne Basabe is a Regional Partnerships Manager for Compassion UK. Working with volunteers and church leaders in the UK, together they reach out to poor children living in abject poverty.
With nearly 15 years experience in child development and advocacy, the strength and passion of Anne’s convictions is ever present in everything she does.
She was born and grew up in Uganda, and even though she pursued Business Studies at Makerere University Business School (Kampala, Uganda). It was her commitment and conviction to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate, which compelled her to take on a career of social work, humbly serving vulnerable, and often helpless children through Compassion in South Western Uganda as a Project director.
Anne is married to Justus and they have 4 children.
Kate Sharma
Kate Sharma is a freelance writer and communications consultant. Kate has more than 12 years experience in marketing and communication within the charity sector. Her experience includes leading the Communications Department at the child development charity Compassion UK for more than five years, and establishing and managing Compassion’s Media and PR department.
Kate travelled extensively to the developing world whilst working with Compassion, which inspired her deep concern for injustice and inequality. She’s delighted to be on the board of Fountain of Peace UK, and inspiring more people to broaden their worldview and get involved in life changing projects.
Kate has a BA Hons degree from the University of Warwick and has also gained a Chartered Institute of Marketing Diploma and Journalism qualification. When she’s not writing, she can be found having fun with her husband and two young daughters.
Peace Nyangoma Ruharuza
Peace Ruharuza is the founder Trustee of Fountain of Peace Children’s Foundation. She is married to Patrick Ruharuza and is a mother of 2 children. Peace studied at Makarere University Business School, Kampala, and Plymouth University in the United Kingdom. She has worked with both Compassion Uganda and Compassion UK, and was formerly sponsored through Compassion International. She now resides in Uganda.
Susan Dodd
Susan currently works for a large multinational accountancy firm and has particular experience in the management and delivery of large scale HR projects, especially in the areas of pay modernisation, performance management and organisational reviews.
Susan has over 30 years’ experience in running children’s work in a number of different churches that she has belonged to around the UK. She lives in Poynton, Cheshire.