Director – Steve Norman
In April 2008, Steve Norman, a serving Police Officer, chanced upon an article in a Sunday newspaper supplement about a girl sold into prostitution in Cambodia at the age of 13. The next day he bought the book and read it through that night into the next day. It was through this experience that God broke his heart and placed therein a deep compassion for the children of this land who have no voice and endure such unimaginable suffering. The overwhelming desire to engage in this issue was impressed on him.
Following numerous fruitless searches and being advised that it was an area best avoided, Steve happened upon Ratanak International in Canada. Over the following months and the exchange of countless emails and calls, the prospect of developing the Ratanak in the UK became a reality. In June 2009 Ratanak International (UK) was formally born.
In September 2009 Steve travelled to Cambodia where he was able to meet Ratanak partners and see firsthand the situations that exist. This visit cemented his resolve to work to make a difference to the lives of as many people as possible. In April 2010, Ratanak International (UK) received its charitable status with the UK Charities Commission.
Steve is a committed Christian and has been married to Karen for 24 years. They have three children aged 23, 22 and 2! They also have a 6 year old grand-daughter and baby grandson. Steve and Karen live in rural North Yorkshire and are members of Influence Church, Richmond (www.influencechurch.co.uk).
Representative – Liz Fetherstonhaugh
Liz Fetherstonhaugh has been married for 32 years to Mark and has two grown boys – Adam and Craig. Liz lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland and works as a full-time Personal Assistant.
The journey with Ratanak began during the winter of 2008 when Liz heard Steve speak at Willowfield Parish church where she worships and serves. During his talk God spoke to Liz and she turned to her husband and said, “I think we are going to Cambodia”. Three years later in November 2011 Liz was part of a Vision trip to Cambodia but God’s plan was for her to go without Mark. All through the trip God showed her that she can depend on Him and He has given her a new confidence to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves.
Since returning from Cambodia, God has given Liz the boldness and courage to speak about her experiences and to talk to anyone who will listen.
Liz says, “I know I can do nothing without Him, and am in no doubt that He wants me to serve Him in this way. I am excited to discover what else God has in store for me and also for my next trip to Cambodia – the people and country has really got under my skin, I might even take my husband along with me next time!”
Liz is a committed Christian and an active member of Willowfield Parish Church in Belfast.
Patron – Steve Chalke MBE
In 1985 Steve Chalke set up Oasis Trust in order to open a hostel for homeless young people. Oasis UK as it is now known currently has over 600 staff, pioneering educational, healthcare and housing initiatives in the UK and across the globe (www.oasisuk.org).
In 1997 Steve launched Parentalk, an organisation dedicated to inspiring and equipping parents. Parentalk works across the UK and produces a range of resources aimed at helping parents make the most of every stage of their child’s growing up (www.parentalk.co.uk).
In 2001 Steve laid the foundations for the Faithworks Movement. Faithworks exists to empower and inspire individual Christians and every local church to develop their role at the hub of their community. It also seeks to challenge and change the public perception of the Church by engaging with both media and the government. The Faithworks Movement goal is to build the most effective social action network in the UK (www.faithworks.info).
In 2003 Steve became the leader of Christ Church & Upton, in Central London. Under the name, Church.co.uk, Waterloo, it became the first of a new network of churches around the UK committed to the same values they aim to become 24/7 – always open, never shut, where no one is ever turned away, whatever the time of night or day (www.church.co.uk).
Steve was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List 2004 for his services to social inclusion.
2004 also saw Steve develop Oasis Community Learning (OCL), a sister charity to Oasis UK. OCL have opened nine secondary schools around the UK. Oasis Academies as they are known bring Oasis values to young people’s education (www.oasiscommunitylearning.org).
In 2006 Steve founded Stop The Traffik a global coalition, which now has over 1000 member organisations around the globe. Stop The Traffik campaign to put an end to people trafficking through preventing the sale of people, prosecuting the traffickers and protecting the victims. In February 2008, Steve and Stop The Traffik delivered over 2.5 million signatures to the UN GIFT forum in Vienna, calling for international action against trafficking. After Vienna, Steve was appointed as UN GIFT Special Adviser for Community Action against Human Trafficking (www.stopthetraffik.org).
In 2007 Steve became the official holder of the Guinness World Record for the largest amount of sponsorship money ever raised by an individual through a single event. He broke this record by raising £1.84 million for Oasis academies through running the London Marathon.
Steve has presented his own television series for ITV and BBC as well as a regular show on Radio 4. He writes monthly columns for Prima Baby on fatherhood and Christianity magazine on Church leadership. He is also the author of over 30 books.
Steve was ordained as a Baptist Minister in 1981, having studied at Spurgeon’s Theological College in London, and was a local minister for four years before setting up the Oasis. He is married to Cornelia and they have four grown-up children.
Trustees
Kingsley Armstrong
He is also President of International Gospel Outreach, an inter-denominational ministry with its motto; ‘reaching the whole church, reaching out to the whole world’ (www.igo.org.uk).
He is the Director of his own ministry called ‘The Joshua Project’, which was set up to help people identify their own calling and ministry (www.thejoshuaproject.co.uk).
Kingsley has been married to Cathy and they have 2 children; Jemima and Isaac. He is passionate about missions and desires to see the church turned inside out
Ben Dowding
Ben is a Senior Pastor of Influence Church in Richmond, North Yorkshire. He is passionate about the North-East of England and about building a relevant, growing, passionate and influential Church that sees the purposes of God fulfilled across the area! It is his heart as a leader to help build a Church that enables people to encounter God and equips them to be a positive influence for the kingdom of God through their lives!
Ben has worked for Youth Alive, formally the Assemblies of God youth department, as a Regional Director, but now works as a Zone Leader for the Assemblies of God, in their Northern Area, having a voice into Churches across the North of England.
Ben is married to Gale and they have two young boys, Asher and Noah.
Pat Norman
Pat has now retired after a number of years in business. His support of the development of Ratanak International (UK) has been evident since the notion was embryonic and is keen to lend this support to raising the awareness of all issues within Cambodia.
Pat is married to Mary and they have 4 children and 7 grand-children. They live in York.
Brian McConaghy
Brian McConaghy, Founding Director of the Ratanak Foundation, was a Forensic Scientist with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for 22 years. For 19 of those years he performed his duties with the RCMP while setting up and running the Ratanak Foundation as a volunteer. Brian is a man with a burden for the people of Cambodia. Having grown up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Brian knows what it is to live under the stress of political turmoil.
Brian first visited Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand in 1989. What he witnessed there appalled him. This experience led him into Cambodia several months later to find conditions were worse than in the camps. This was the start of a long journey that has taken Brian and the Ratanak Foundation through many challenging and rewarding times in their desire to be servants of the Khmer people.
After visiting Cambodian refugee camps and seeing a documentary on Cambodia, Brian was moved to study the complexities of this country and to do something to alleviate the suffering. The result was a foundation named after a little girl he saw dying in that documentary.
Brian never got to meet Ratanak but she changed his life. His dedication to the people of Cambodia is a reflection of the person of Jesus Christ at work in his life.