On the 26th April, David and his family travelled down to London to attend the Rotary Champion of Change Awards at the House of Lords. The event was hosted by Baroness Harris of Richmond and presented by Lord William Hague.
David was one of this year’s twelve recipients to receive this prestigeous award in recognition of his oustanding volunteer work to improve the lives of others. His local Rotary Club of Ramsey nominated him in the International category with the following suporting statement:
David became aware of the dire conditions in Sierra Leone on a trip there in 2005. It became his aim to provide high quality, free education for the Temne tribe in a rural area of the country, where residents speak their own language and are unable to read or write.
What followed in 2008 was what the locals called ‘The David School’. Since then, the project has seen the opening of a refurbished primary school and newly built secondary school and living accommodation for staff. The site teaches around 360 pupils during the day and offers adult education programmes in the evenings.
The picture shows David receiving his award from Lord Hague alongside Eve Conway of the Rotary Club of Redbridge, President of RIBI for Rotary year 2016/17