Alberta woman returns from Nepal to lead Development and Peace

Mary Martin says Canada's excessive consumption is unfair compared to developing countries

Mary Martin and friend Mukhiya take a break on Gokyo and enjoy the sight of Mount Everest in the background. Photos supplied to the Western Catholic Reporter

A Grande Praire woman returning from Nepal to lead her diocese's Development and Peace program is the subject of the latest B.C. Catholic story from Ramon Gonzalez of the Western Catholic Reporter:

Travelling from London to Nepal on the back of a truck in the early 1970s opened a new world for Mary Martin. She met many people and crossed many countries along the way. But she fell in love with Nepal and returned twice to the small south Asian nation to work among the poor.

Now, back in Grande Prairie, the 64-year-old physiotherapist at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital is hard at work trying to raise the profile of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP), and raising awareness of the needs of the developing world. She has been serving as CCODP coordinator for the Archdiocese of Grouard McLennan for almost two years.

One of Martin’s main goals is to create awareness about the developing world “because people have no idea what’s going on in developing countries,” she says matter-of-factly.

Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.