Hospice Africa UK
Hospice Africa was delighted to welcome some new (and old) faces back onto site as 2023 brought an influx of volunteers and visitors to Uganda. Maddie spent 8 weeks at Hospice in Kampala for her Medical Elective this summer. Our UK Board Chair Chris Merriman and his wife Maria visited Hospice Africa Uganda for two weeks at the beginning of July and had an unforgettable experience.
Emma Matthews, a palliative care nurse from the UK, also visited our clinical team in Uganda and stayed for 2 months in February and March.
A moment worth 1000 smiles…
Founder Dr Anne was hosted by the Irish Embassy to celebrate her 88th birthday! Congratulations! And look at the celebrations that kicked off for the 30th Anniversary year!
After the success of the London Landmarks Half Marathon 2023, we were lucky to have 6 runners who ran the London Royal Parks half marathon for us this October raising £5k.
Meet the team
Hospice Africa Ltd was founded in Liverpool in 1992. The trustee board, some pictured right, make up the Hospice Africa team in the UK, with the majority based in the Liverpool area. We openly welcome new members to the team whilst others have been there since the organisation’s origin and have dedicated their lives to supporting palliative care across Africa. They are a friendly bunch so don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Hospice Africa UK Board Members
Founder: Prof Anne Merriman was born in Liverpool and pursued a career in medicine, graduating from UCD, Ireland. In 1993, she founded Hospice Africa with the help of local and dedicated friends.
Now 88, she has lived for 40 years in Africa, and 30 years in Uganda, where she still lives and works. She is known in Nigeria as “Mama Africa”, her favourite awarded title!
Our vision is “Palliative care for all in need in Africa”. African countries providing palliative care have expanded from 3 to 37 countries since 1993, but there are 17 more countries needing this service. Dr. Anne hopes to live to see all African Governments and people providing palliative care for those at home as well as in hospital. This development needs much additional advocacy to Governments and Health Services as well as the provision of education for all who are willing to care. Her message is: “Help us to continue for the sake of the suffering, in spite of restrictions” and she thanks all who care for their compassion.
Chair: Chris Merriman has been a supporter of Hospice Africa since its formation in 1993. He has served as a trustee on the UK Board since 2013, and was appointed Chair in September 2020. Chris first visited Uganda in 2005 with his family and found it an inspirational and humbling experience, and was back in Kampala again as recently as Christmas 2019 for a unique and special celebration of the festive season.
Outside of Hospice Africa, Chris is Associate Director of Practitioner Services at Manufacturers Network who support organisations with their Business Transformation and Continuous Improvement programmes.
Chris lives in Ormskirk with his wife Maria and family who are all involved in supporting Hospice Africa.
Treasurer: Pat was a Hospice Africa Founding Trustee in 1993 for several years. After retirement, she returned in 2016, and has been Hon. Treasurer since 2018.
Pat has held managerial roles in customer services, product management, and quality management. Living in Liverpool, Pat is an enthusiastic LFC Supporter, and enjoys the outdoors, birdwatching, and gardening.
Pat developed further links with the work in Uganda when her son, Michael, spent a period working at HAU when he was 17. Pat was also fortunate enough to visit all three of the Ugandan Hospice sites in January/February last year, before Covid restrictions hit.
Hon Secretary: Dr Mary Bunn is a palliative care doctor who initially trained to be a General Practitioner, including 2 years working in primary care in The Gambia. She went to live and work in Malawi in 2005, with her paediatrician husband, James, and 4 young children, and took over the running of Umodzi, the Children’s Palliative Care service at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, which was set up with the support of Dr Anne Merriman and HAU. She completed a Masters in Palliative Medicine from the University of Cape Town in 2009, and continued to work in Hospice and Palliative Care when she returned to the UK.
Mary joined the Board of HAUK trustees in 2014, enjoying supporting the annual cycle ride with her family, until the opportunity arose to move to Freetown, Sierra Leone, and develop palliative care services in the government sector there, with inspiration from Dr Anne. She now joins meetings by Zoom, alongside the rest of the Board
Doug Haynes is a Lancastrian who found his values were profoundly shaped by a year teaching Maths and Science in a resource-poor secondary school in northern Malawi. He returned to the UK to complete a Masters in Operational Research followed by a life-long career in university education at Liverpool Business School, LJMU. He became a HA Trustee in 1996.
Doug is drawn mainly to the big picture, seeking operational effectiveness at the global, organisational and individual levels. Fascinated by personality profiling, Doug is interested in being part of co-operative and supportive teams.
He is married to Linda, a retired occupational therapist, with children and grandchildren living in Sheffield and Bristol. He is a deacon at the local Baptist church; loves the outdoor
Will Peachey has visited Malawi and Gambia and seen the difference care and professionalism make to the service of people in need. He has been inspired by the work and mission of Prof Anne Merriman and her care and vision, and was invited to join the board of Hospice Africa UK early in 2022.
Alongside his role with Hospice Africa UK, Will is a founder and investor in technology start-ups. He focuses on improving how people work, learn, and apply new skills. He lives in Warwickshire with his wife, Ann, and has four grown up children.
Hannah Merriman, has been a strong supported of Hospice Africa for over 12 years. She first visited Hospice with ther family in 2005: an experience that left a deep impression on her. She returned independently at the age of 18, equipped with funds she had raised and soon became very involved with all aspects of Hospice life.
The Give A Chance project has been something very close to Hannah’s heart and she brought new energy and funding to this project, set up to support the children whose schools fees may have been seriously affected by the illnesss or death of a loved one.
Hannah continues to support and visit hospice and has formed close ties with Dr.Anne and many members of the hospice team.
Catherine Merriman is a Junior Doctor based in London. Along with her family members she has been a long standing supporter and volunteer at Hospice Africa. She first visited in 2005 and has returned a few times, volunteering at the 3 sites and using her profession as a doctor working directly with patients supporting the vision at hospice.
How To Support Us
Each year we host a calendar of events in order to raise money and support the work in Africa. Covid presented many challenges over the past few years, but signing up to our mailing list is the best way to stay on top of new upcoming events.
For those who often contribute via VirginMoneyGiving.Com – this closed on the 30th November last year. To ensure a smooth transition and no loss of funds, please use this JustGiving/hospiceafrica
if you want your donation used for something special just leave a note on the page when donating. Please consider setting up a regular payment as it helps plan our future support across Africa. You can find a standing order form by clicking the link below. Please email Pat Linnell with any questions or queries about donations:
Pat Linnell: Hon. Treasurer (Donations)
Email: [email protected]
Address:41, Harrison Hey Liverpool L36 5YR.
If you are a taxpayer please consider Gift Aid which adds 25p to every £1 you donate. The Gift Aid Form is available via our website donation page or by post from the Treasurer. Cheques, payable to ‘Hospice Africa’ can be sent to the Treasurer.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
*Our Charity Shops
We run two charity shops in the Liverpool area which have been a great support for Hospice over the years. These will again be open from 3rd December with full Covid safety measures in place, so pay us a visit to have a look around. Please note ongoing restrictions may limit our ability to accept delivery of your old items for a while yet.
12 East Prescot Road, Liverpool, L14 1PW
211 Heathfield Road, Ainsdale, Southport PR8, 3EL
Get in Touch
Whether you would like to find out more about Hospice Africa or discuss fundraising ideas we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch using the following channels:
01695 578 209
Hospice Africa Ltd
Holly Bank, 34 Altys Lane
Ormskirk
L39 4RQ
UK Registered Charity Number: 1024903
Company number: 02835469
