Whitefield Christian Trust

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Who runs the Whitefield Christian Trust?

Dr Pam Dodson who worked as a missionary in India and Nepal for many years was the founder of WCT. It was her vision that led to the establishment of the trust in 1992 and her interest and enthusiasm continue although she has had to resign as a trustee.

The Trust is administered by five trustees:

Margaret Gould,BA. Chairman. Margaret is a former missionary who served in Nepal with her husband Bill.

Alastair Watson,MA,LLM,TEP. Alastair is a retired solicitor with experience as a Trust and Estate Practitioner. Alastair is one of the original trustees.

Peter Hellawell FCA,ATII. Peter is a Christian accountant with Petersons of Witney, Oxon. He specialises in tax and charity issues.

Roger Snowdon LLB (Hons). Roger is a solicitor practising with Machlachlans in Gillingham, Dorset.

Janet Dain BA, FCIS, UKRC. Janet is currently working as a counsellor/psychotherapist. She also has previous experience as a chartered company secretary.

The Trustees do not receive any financial benefit from the Trust. All donations go to help applicants apart from administration expenses.

When mission workers retire – many of them don’t have a home to return to. They went off to serve God at an early age and probably weren’t earning enough for a mortgage. Instead, they were more concerned with the needs of others, than with their own future security.

The problem
Unless they inherit property, a home for most long-serving missionaries is just a dream. The mission allowance is just enough to live on and today’s pension does not cover current rents. It can take many years to get to the top of a housing list.

Our response
The Whitefield Christian Trust was formed to provide a solution to this problem – offering a way for returning missionaries to have somewhere to live.

The mission partners choose the location and we come in to help. Occasionally we buy the house in the name of the Trust and they pay a reasonable rent and can continue to live there for the rest of their lives. More often the Trust helps through an Equity Share Agreement. The Trust adds to capital available and the share will remain the property of the Trust. When the mission partner dies or circumstances alter, the property is sold and the money from the equity share is made available for further investment in new accommodation.

Who will we help?
We are as flexible as possible in providing homes for those who fit our criteria and who have been engaged in long-term service which is usually defined as between 20 and 30 years. Since the Trust was established, we have helped a total of over 20 mission partners, including families, couples and single people. Most have worked overseas, but some have been involved in mission in the UK.

Case studies
valerie VALERIE is somebody we have helped. She began her work in a mountain hospital in Nepal in 1960 and, since then, has worked in community health projects across the country, while also training others to do similar work. When retirement approached, she had nowhere to call home – but The Whitefield Christian Trust was able to help her. Today she lives in a small flat on the south coast of England, partly bought with her own funds.

valerie ANNA is from Scotland and has worked in Nepal, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Cyprus in the course of 24 years of mission service. She inherited a property in the north of Scotland that needed major renovations. We were able to help Anna with the costs, providing her with a lovely home in the place where she wanted to settle.

angela Angela worked with AIM in Kenya for over 30 years. Her final work with AIM was in their UK office, using mission housing. On retirement, she was helped by WCT and is now living in the Nottingham area, where she uses her home in the service of her church. She continues to take a special interest in AIM and in supporting retired missionaries.

ann Ann Lycett went to work in Nepal as a teacher in the 1960’s with Interserve. She enabled missionary families to continue their work as she was able to teach their children. Her work in both Kathmandu and Tansen spanned many years. When she eventually returned to England in 2006, she was without a home. Now with help from WCT she enjoys her home in Essex. Read her full story in News.

These are just four examples of some people The Whitefield Christian Trust has been able to help.