Gladstone Worthington - TLM Hero

Gladstone Worthington joined the Mission in 1991. He was happy to join a Christian organisation and hoped to stay a year or two. Thirty-three years later, he’s still here. In 2014 Gladstone became Head of Finance, and recently he has overseen the implementation of the electronic hospital management systems in Nepal and Bangladesh. “It gives me great satisfaction that I’m able to make a difference in the Mission,” says Gladstone: “People in the wider Mission reach out to me for advice, for opinion and sometimes just to share their burden.”

Gladstone was born and grew up in Sri Lanka: “My father was a doctor so most of my holidays were spent in the community hospital. That’s where I observed my father’s passion for people, so when I joined The Leprosy Mission, it was office-based, but the passion for serving people was reignited”.

Not long after he took the job, Gladstone met his wife, Krishanthi. Their wedding was attended by friends from the Mission and years later, during the school holidays, their children would sit with Gladstone in the office while he worked. They’re 27 and 24 now, both inspired in their work as medics by their own visits to The Leprosy Mission’s hospital in Nepal.

“What I received from the Mission in the 30 years or more, is more than what I have given,” says Gladstone. He is inspired by the people who have dedicated their lives to the cause, and the community it provides: “I can pick up the phone and say I have a problem, can you please pray for me, and I know people will keep me in their prayers. It is very unusual.”