As you know, we
recently lost our founder, Dr. John Maitland, who died peacefully at home
on 13th November after a short illness.
Sadly, John’s passing came just a few weeks before
31 December 2012, which will mark the 50th anniversary of John and
his wife Hilary arriving in Uganda to work as doctors running a rural
hospital. It was that experience which
directly led to them founding Uganda Development Services (UDS), with the aim of helping the poorest uplift
themselves.
John and Hilary worked in Uganda from 1963 to
1976. They registered UDS as a UK charity in 1994, and as an NGO in Uganda in 1997.
The UK arm of the charity was originally based
at Dr Maitland's home in Cheshire, UK. In
2006 the office moved south to West London,
but that did nothing to diminish John’s involvement in the organisation
and its work.
In the
autumn of 2010, John paid a two-week visit to Uganda. It was to be his last
visit to the country. He visited what he
called “the ‘front line’ – the place where UDS
gives people the means to climb out of their prison of poverty.” He recorded
his impressions from that trip in a booklet, “What The Founder Found.” There is a link to an online version of the
booklet below.
When news of John’s death reached Uganda we
received many messages of tribute.
Rita
Epodoi, Executive Director of UDS Uganda
wrote: “We grieve with family as well as
celebrate John's life. He lived in obedience to God's calling on his life and
is certainly with Him in glory.”
Dr
Paul, a board member, wrote:
“John’s was a remarkable and inspiring life! Not only because of the so
much he achieved but also (and even more so I think), because of the
mind-boggling amount of faith he had in God, his gracious belief in people and
their potential, and the ability to hold on to the fact that ‘it can and will
be done.’ “
John
was a man of God, and it was his faith that inspired him and his good work for
the people of Uganda, whom he loved.
One
of his favourite passages from The Bible was from 2 Corinthians, Chapter 5. It
seems appropriate to recall it now:
“If we are ‘out of our mind,’ as some
say, it is for God; if we are in our
right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we
are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for
all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who
died for them and was raised again.”
See a selection of photos of John Maitland during his visits to Uganda
Hear a talk given by John Maitland at St John's
Ealing in October 2011
Read "What The Founder Found," the document that John wrote after his final
visit to Uganda in November 2010
We have established the Maitland Fund - to
commemorate John's life - and to uphold his vision. Donations can be sent
to the UDS office (click here to download a form) or made online here.
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