History

David Carling, a medical doctor, and his wife Gwenyth, a teacher, spent 18 years in Nigeria, Chad and Sudan.

At a leprosy institution they developed a programme of reconstructive surgery and physiotherapy.  From this centre they began a medico-evangelistic outreach, selecting African missionaries, training them in simple but effective diagnosis and treatment, and deploying them in clinics around the shores and islands of the huge inland sea which is Lake Chad.  A floating theatre brought a surgery facility to the far-flung clinics.

On their return to UK with their two sons in 1976, David and Gwenyth continued to develop medical and missionary initiatives.  Active Service Trust was formed in 1980, initially to provide a peaceful, residential environment at which overseas workers, and those in ministry in the UK could regain their physical, mental and spiritual strength.

As David and Gwenyth's ministry has expanded and now takes them in various directions across the globe, AST continues to support them as they bring practical and spiritual help, teaching and experience to many of the world's poorest countries.  Their work has borne fruit in different ways, including a recent agricultural project in South Sudan that resulted in tractors and other vital equipment being shipped from the UK.

Project Nigeria began in 2009 in response to a new outbreak of persecution in northern Nigeria, some of which was witnessed first hand by David and Gwenyth.