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The trustees have worked hard to ensure that all the money raised from the tremendous generosity of donors (and pain of volunteers doing all those agonisingly challenging events!) goes to good use. John-Henry had some big life plans, and we believe we have some excellent projects to support, reflecting many of the things he would have loved to be involved with.

We have now raised over £100,000 (as of February 2010)!!. On this page, we tell you what we’ve spent the money on to date and detail what we plan to spend the money on in the future.

OUR PLEDGE TO CONTINUALLY SUPPORT:
We were keen to support from the beginning a number of causes that JH felt closely about and that would ensure a legacy to him.
1. The John Henry Memorial Prize
We donated a lump sum to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2008 to create a yearly prize of £250 forever!

The John Henry Memorial Prize goes to the student who has given it their best and who is most likely to take what they have learned and go further with it. The Course Director helps choose the person for this in consultation with the trustees to ensure that the person also fits in with JH’s spirit – in particular that working hard should also go hand in hand with a good dose of fun and humour!

We have now given three JH Memorial Prizes, all of whom have written in to thank us. Do read about their stories and what they are up to.

2008 (inaugural) JH Memorial Prize - Melisa Martinez Alvarez
The inaugural John Henry Memorial Prize was awarded to Melisa Martinez Alvarez (pictured here at a focus group discussion with boys aged 12-17 years)for her outstanding performance on the course. Congratulations! She wrote in to tell us about what she has been doing:

"After graduating from my BSc in Biology with a year in Europe from Imperial College London, I decided to follow my interest in international development and public health by taking the MSc Control of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. An important part of this course was to carry out an eight-week research project. I carried out my project with Christian Aid in the Northern Zambian region of the Copperbelt. My project was entitled: “An evaluation of the Community Based Care for Orphans and Vulnerable children (CBCO) Life Skills Programme in the Copperbelt, Zambia”. During my time in the Copperbelt I stayed with a local family in the rural area of Ntengwa. The aim of this was to build a close relationship with the community to facilitate data collection. I carried out two quantitative questionnaires (114 participants for each), eight focus group discussions and eight in-depth interviews. Despite encountering several problems with the data collection, it quickly became apparent that the Life Skills Programme was not achieving its full potential, and I made recommendations including the need for more regular and accurate sessions, but also relating to the need to address underlying issues, such as sexual abuse and power imbalances, in order for the sessions to have a better impact".

"I found the experience extremely rewarding. I made many good friends and I personally learnt a great deal from living with the community about their way of live, views and customs. I feel extremely privileged and humbled to have been awarded the John Henry Memorial Prize for this work and would like to thank the John Henry Memorial Fund as well as everyone who helped me carry out my project".

The project was conducted in conjunction with Christian Aid, who expressed a very high opinion of the relevance and quality of the work.


2009 JH Memorial Prize - Ruth Ashton

"After completing a BA in Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, I moved to London to take the MSc control of infectious diseases course at LSHTM. The course at LSHTM was a mix of public health and epidemiology, with one of the most important parts being the summer project. I travelled to Uganda to work with Malaria Consortium, an international NGO, on long-term project evaluating the impact of mosquito nets on malaria and lymphatic filariasis (LF). I was primarily based in Kampala, analysing data collected during baseline surveys to find if any association between risk of malaria or LF and mosquito net use existed in the initial stages of the study. I was also able to travel to the study site in Northern Uganda to take part in follow up surveys to investigate net retention and usage by rural households. Although my analysis revealed no clear protective impact of mosquito nets at baseline, the experience as a whole was invaluable. I was able to build close links with an organisation working in my area of interest of neglected tropical diseases, develop my technical skills, but also visit a developing country for the first time and take part in data collection in the field."

"Since completing my MSc, I've been based full time in Ethiopia, working with Malaria Consortium as a technical officer. My role has been to coordinate two operational research projects funded by USAID/PMI. One is an evaluation of multi-species rapid diagnostic tests for malaria, which will inform national policy when the switch is made from single- to multi-species RDTs. The second (and my favourite) is to develop a map of malaria and soil-transmitted helminth infection, and risk of infection across Oromia Region. To do this, we are currently running school-based surveys to test for malaria and helminth infection at 200 schools across the region. It has been a huge challenge, partly due to the size and poor infrastructure of the region - logistics and managing people become as vital as the technical aspects. Learning the art of project management has been trial and error, but to see a project from planning stages to implementation is really satisfying."

"I'm planning to move to the Malaria Consortium regional office in Kampala in the new year, to take on some Ugandan projects. These will again be focussed on combined control of malaria and neglected tropical diseases, and I'll continue to work with Jan Kolaczinski and Simon Brooker on these new projects."

"Thanks again for awarding me the prize. If you would like any photos - either of the MSc project in Uganda or my current work in Ethiopia - for the website then do let me know. "

2010 JH Memorial Prize - Sally Jackson (for work in the Gambia)

"I took the MSc Control of Infectious Diseases Course at LSHTM to gain the skills that I felt were essential for the work that I was conducting in the field in developing countries. Although I had a background in parasitology field research and health, it was while working in HIV/AIDS research and programme development for an NGO in India that I realised that I needed to learn specific research techniques that would enable me to work effectively in implementing evidence-based interventions in resource-limited settings. For this reason I applied to the LSHTM, and while there I focused on studying modules in epidemiology, particularly for the control of infectious diseases in developing countries."

"I carried out my research project in the distribution of trachoma in rural villages in The Gambia. Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide and is caused by repeated infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. I was looking at the distribution of the disease according to genetic and environmental risk factors. The purpose of the project was to investigate whether the scarring disease that leads to blindness occurs due to repeated environmental exposure to the bacteria or whether individuals have a genetic predisposition. I worked with a government Ophthalmic Nurse to conduct a census, screen participants, take clinical photographs, do questionnaires, take GPS readings, draw genetic pedigrees and trace genetic contacts in The Gambia and Senegal. The results proved extremely interesting and relevant for the control of trachoma, and as a result a PhD student based in The Gambia will now be continuing work in this area. To receive the John-Henry Memorial Prize is a great honour for me as I set out to learn skills to enable me to work more effectively in the field and I really hope that I have achieved that."

"Since graduating I have been working on a Cochrane review for malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. I am shortly going to Rwanda where I will be practically applying the skills and experience that I have gained while working in HIV. The trachoma research project has been crucial in amalgamating my skills and experience and I am extremely grateful to the John Henry Memorial Fund for presenting me with this prize."

2. Monthly standing order
We support, on a monthly basis as John-Henry did, the charities Christian Aid and Medic Malawi. In 2003, John-Henry went to Kenya to help work with Street Children in the Rift valley. On his flight over, he got talking to a person who had recently set up a medical based charity that provides funds for hospitals in Malawi. JH was bubbling with enthusiasm when he stepped off the plane and clearly the person had made quite an impression on him. It had been in his mind to go to Malawi and visit the charity and for this reason we want to support them in their excellent work. For more details about Medic Malawi, please visit their website.

WHAT WE SUPPORTED IN 2008:

1. £1,200 was donated to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge for their work in supporting people living with cancer.

2. £1,200 has been donated to Cheltenham Hospital to go towards two different projects:
• A "Maggie Centre" to be built which will offer advice and support in a non-clinical and informal environment taking a very holistic approach. These centres have had fantastic reviews and you'll find lots of information on the website about them.
We had a lovely letter from Maggie's Cotswolds where the money is being spent:
"...It is wonderful to get a real sense of what a great guy John-Henry was and how lucky you are to have known him. I am sure people will continue to do all sorts of (crazy) challenges in his memory to help you fulfill the inspiring projects you have planned, both in the UK and abroad."

3. £1,000 has been donated to The Newent Kenyan link partnership. This was started in 2001 between three schools in the UK and three schools close to Kisumu in Kenya. The school in Newent (JH's Alma Mater) has been itself raising funds and forming close ties with the students and teachers of St Georges in Kenya. The money raised is being spent on developing basic services such as a better water supply, a toilet block and a well stocked library but also for better medical access. For more information on these projects, please visit the website, Newent Kenya Link.

THE FUTURE OF THE JH MEMORIAL FUND

JH was keen to use his background in pharmaceuticals and apply it to good cause overseas, in particular East Africa where he had spent a good deal of time. He had got a place to do a Masters course in Tropical Medicine and International Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and we believe this should be the focus of the fund’s resources.

Thomas has had a number of successful meetings with the course Director and we hope to forge strong links with the University and in particular the course. From these meetings, we have decided on two areas to support:

2. JHMF is looking to strengthen its ties with the CID masters course as we feel that by funding more strategic analysis of the charity provision we can hopefully punch above our weight in terms of what our hard-earned funds can achieve. Having spoken to Professor Michael Miles, the course organiser, we are confident that any investment in the course will be well spent; well over 75% of the graduates go on to work for charities or NGOs. The trustees are looking at the funding of a PhD for a graduate of the course. This would cost £15,000 for three years so a large lump sum would be required to fund this into perpetuity. We believe this will be around £150,000 and would be a fantastic legacy to a man who was so keen to get into research in this area.

3. In the future, the fund may support projects directly focusing on some of JH’s other interests. We will keep you posted on any developments.