Our Team at FMCH UK
Board of Trustees
Barbara Jayson MBE, Founder and Chair
Barbara is the Founder of the Foundation for Mother & Child Health (FMCH) family. A registered nurse who trained at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, she graduated in Biological Sciences at the University of Surrey and gained her Masters in Advanced Practice as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse - Health Visitor, from King's College London.
Responding to the serious financial and political crisis in Indonesia during 2001, Barbara worked with a team of Indonesian and expatriate healthcare professionals to establish the first FMCH charity in Jakarta. Known locally as Yayasan Balita Sehat, it has grown to become FMCH Indonesia.
In 2006, Barbara supported her colleague Leena Godiwala as she set up FMCH India. Spearheaded by Dorothy Wagle since 2011, FMCH India has become a specialist NGO in the field of child malnutrition.
After two years working on behalf of FMCH with expatriate mothers and UNHCR registered refugees in Azerbaijan, Barbara returned with her family to the UK.
FMCH programmes have expanded greatly since the inauguration of the first FMCH charity in Indonesia, and Barbara remains closely involved in supporting and advising on maternal and child health. During the COVID pandemic she returned to work as a health visitor in the UK.
Barbara was awarded an MBE for services to women and children in Indonesia in 2004 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health.
Hugh Penrhyn Jones, Secretary
Hugh, a barrister, worked as a lawyer in the energy industry for many years before moving into commercial law. FMCH was established whilst his family were based in Indonesia and he subsequently maintained an interest in the development of FMCH India whilst he was based in Mumbai. Now retired in the UK, he has become Secretary of FMCH UK.
Lou Simpson, Trustee
We were delighted to welcome Lou onto the FMCH-UK Board of Trustees in Jan 2017. Lou was Chair of FMCH-Indonesia from 2011 until 2016 and supported the team in areas of strategic direction, organisational development, communication, marketing, fundraising and financial management. During this time, she developed a strong commitment to FMCH and its work, both in Indonesia and globally.
Prior to working with FMCH, she built a solid reputation over the past 25 years as a senior manager and strategic consultant with a portfolio of clients that include leading UK and international NGOs and cultural institutions. She is now delighted to use her extensive knowledge of fundraising and marketing to support FMCH-UK’s goals.