Meet The Team
Hi I’m Lydia, I grew up in Bury and took over as Chairperson of R.E.A.CH (Formerly Bury African Outreach) back in 2012. My family had been supporting the charity for many years and in 2010 I was lucky enough to visit Uganda with my husband (Trustee Tom) and saw the amazing work being done there. I returned with a passion for East Africa and wanted to do what I could to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable children there. The existing trustees at that time were planning for retirement so we arranged a transfer of responsibilities upon our return…..and the rest is history! We returned to Uganda in 2013 and hope to be able to go back in the near future. I have an MSc in Clinical Research and work in pharmaceuticals, managing clinical trials. I live in Stockport with Tom and our 2 young boys.
Hi, my name is Phil, I have had the pleasure of being treasurer for R.E.A.CH (formerly Bury African Outreach) since 2012. I met the Tom and Lydia through my wife who has been best friends with Lydia since childhood. As an associate accountant I was more than happy to lend my skills to help such a worthwhile cause.
The stories I hear about how the money raised by R.E.A.CH is helping both children and adults in Uganda makes me feel proud to be one of the charities trustees.
I hope to be part of the charity for years to come and continue to help raise funds for some of the most vulnerable people in Uganda
Hi, I’m Tom and I’m R.E.A.CH secretary. I live in Stockport with R.E.A.CH Chair Lydia and I run a construction company. I’m originally from Worcestershire but moved to the North West in order to study for a degree 20 years ago. My interest in East Africa began back in 2009 when I met an interesting man with a Gorilla tattoo! He inspired me to visit Uganda in 2010 and I was lucky enough to see these beautiful creatures in the wild. Whilst in this trip we visited some of the projects being supported by R.E.A.CH, and when the opportunity to take over the management of R.E.A.CH came up, I jumped at the chance to get involved and make a difference.
Denise was a Trustee of Helping Uganda Schools for over 20 years and has visited Uganda on several occasions. She is a great support to R.E.A.CH and is known for ‘making things happen’, her experience from HUGs is a huge asset to us and we are so grateful for her support. Denise has been the driving force behind many of our projects in recent years.
Denise introduced R.E.A.CH to HUGS. Together the two charities have co-funded many projects including the building of ‘St Gabriel’s House’ in Fort Portal under the direction of Sister Theresa Abigaba. Working with Sebastian Waiswa in Jinja to set up projects and Ronald Kamoga in Kampala where exciting education and self-sustaining projects are taking place.
Lydia and Denise have also worked with Sister Evangelista Mirembe in Lira to form the Lira Women’s Group which they linked with WI (Rolling Scones) in Marple.
Denise is so happy to be part of R.E.A.CH. Being part of R.E.A.CH means she can still be involved and make a difference.
Denise lives in Marple, Stockport with her husband. She has two children and five grandchildren. She is a retired social worker having worked in Childcare, Adult Services and Mental Health. Denise has a B.A. and M.A (Health Care Ethics). CQSW. (Social work qualification). Denise is passionate about making the lives of children better.
We are also very fortunate to have the support of family and friends in order to keep BAO running. Notably Rebecca Lay (Phil’s wife!) designs our annual newsletter with her excellent graphic design skills and Chris Demetriou (Lydia’s brother) is our technical whizz!