Elgin Rotary hears from ...
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The letter E has dominated the life of Ben Goss OBE who was the speaker at Elgin Rotary this week.
Education, Enthusiasm, Energy, Encouragement, Effectiveness and Efficiency have underpinned his life and career.
He met his wife at university in Exeter and they married in Edinburgh.
His first job was teaching Economics near Leicester but rugby featured strongly, including playing in Romania where he damaged his knee.
Sport and adventure have always featured highly, the whole family have run the London marathon. As well as rugby, Ben’s interests include running, sailing, surfing and canoeing.
The family moved to Duffus where Ben joined the teaching staff at Gordonstoun and taught Economics and Business Studies, became a housemaster and was Chaplain twice.
He continues his 40-year connection with the school as 'Keeper of the Family of Gordonstoun'.
During his time at the school he started the charity Give Them a Sporting Chance with the help of many friends who were, or became, Rotarians.
This charity turns the sporting and recreational dreams of people with disabilities and their carers into reality, regardless of age.
One recommendation to this charity led to the theatre group Out of Darkness being given the chance to perform in the Middle East.
Everyone who has a chance has to raise funds for a charity of their choice. It doesn’t matter how much – it’s the effort that counts.
On his retirement nine years ago, Ben started the Chaffinch Trust which encourages charities serving those people who live in the poorest areas of Britain and across the world, to work together.
This work fills him with enormous enthusiasm and is happening in Moray, Arbroath, Dundee, in the Gambia, in Malawi and Madagascar.
Ben hopes that the seeds that have been sown will continue to grow in the Yemen, and Lebanon, with friends from the Muslim Humanitarian Community.
The charity continues to develop numerous partnerships, principally with Swinfen Telemedicine, Opportunity International, Mercy Corps, The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, with friends in the United Nation’s world food programme.
Ben suggests that a project simply takes the energy, the enthusiasm, the initiative of one person who can see the value of charities co-operating, collaborating and communicating with each other.
Read the news from Moray here