Paddi Pearson-New
Feb 20 2008
by Peter Elson, Liverpool Daily Post



A CHANCE conversation with the leading Liverpool councillor Margaret Simey inspired the daughter of a city grocer to embark on a journey that eventually would lead her to the roof of the world, helping the Tibetan community.

Paddi Pearson-New, who has died of leukaemia, aged 67, could easily have had a comfortable working life in British industry, after a successful five-year career in personnel at Beecham’s pharmaceuticals, St Helens.

Instead, enthused by Margaret Simey’s words, she joined the probation service in 1968. Paddi covered Warrington, Kirkby and, after the 1981 riots, Toxteth. She was most dedicated to child protection, especially in her role as a guardian ad litem (legal protector). She retired in 1993.

Born in Southport, brought up in Huyton and educated at Wade Deacon Grammar School, Widnes, she initially trained as a teacher at St Catherine’s College, now part of Liverpool Hope University.

In 1978, she met her future husband, Nick New, in India, who described her as a modest, very determined, but well-loved person, who had a natural affinity with youngsters.

A year later, she made her first trip to Kashmir and Ladakh, meeting the Tibetan Buddhist community exiled in India. From this came her help for the Tibetan Children's Villages (TCV) charity. Founded 46 years ago, TCV is an educational community for destitute Tibetan children and orphans in exile and currently cares for more than 16,000 children.

Her Liverpool roots were important and her charity project came to fruition after discussions with the One World Group of the Liverpool Institute of Higher Education (now also Hope University) in 1986.

The outcome was annual programmes for LIHE staff to undertake teacher training in a Ladakh school during our summer holidays, while two students taught and helped in villages. For this pioneering work, Hope received a Queen's Award for Education in 1996.

The following year, Paddi became involved with educational and low technology schemes with the Appropriate Technology for Tibetans charity (now Appropriate Technology Asia), which her husband, Nick, continues from the couple’s Albert Dock home.

Their first major sponsored project was to create sustainable communal facilities in remote Tibetan villages and bring some Tibetan staff to visit the UK to take Open University courses.

Paddi (Patricia) Pearson-New, probation officer; born, January 14, 1940, died, September 18, 2007

Source: Liverpool Daily Post