Mariot retired from teaching in 2015 and is enjoying semi-retired life. With her husband John she has regular grandparent days with their grandsons (and Mamie’s great-great grandsons) which are a great joy. Mariot also does some music teaching in local primary schools, as well as working with several choirs. During her time at Falkirk High School she set up a school partnership with Bandawe Girls’ Secondary School and led two pupil trips to Malawi and one reciprocal visit to Falkirk by BAGSS girls and teachers. She feels a strong bond with Bandawe and the many friends in that community.

Kate has a long connection with Malawi and with the Mamie Martin Fund. Her introduction to Malawi was as a volunteer teacher. Soon after this, she was introduced to MMF and reported on the situation in the then (1990s) five MMF sponsored schools. Later she worked at the Livingstonia Synod, with responsibility of coordinating the MMF sponsorship programme, visiting the schools regularly. In her current position at UEA she still specialises in research and teaching on gender and education, with a focus on girls’ schooling, and has continued professional and family ties in Malawi, returning there regularly.

Alan is a Chartered Accountant by profession and was a partner in a large Scottish practice for 22 years before semi-retiring. He has been involved with charities working in Malawi since 2008. Previously, he was involved in youth work and outdoor centres.  He is the founder and a trustee of the Bananabox Trust, which supports projects in Northern Malawi as well as organising containers of goods to be sent to Malawi on behalf of other charities.

Eileen joined the Board in 2013 and has been a supporter of the Mamie Martin Fund since its inception in 1993. She is a retired veterinary surgeon and spent more than 30 years working in, and managing, a small animal practice in Ayrshire with her two business partners. She was secretary of Cunninghame South Constituency Labour Party and chairperson of Ayrshire CND for several years, until expansion in their business took up all her spare time.

Grandson of Jack and Mamie Martin and son of John and Margaret Sinclair, Willie has been a Committee Member/Trustee of the charity since approximately 1995, and Convenor for many years. Willie visited Malawi in 2005 and would like to go back, but his busy life as a Grandad and retiree currently precludes such a journey. Willie uses his musical contacts and enthusiasm for cycling to raise money for the Fund.

Angie first met Margaret Sinclair in 1970 when, as social workers, they joined the same team in Stirling. A long standing friendship soon grew up between Angie and the Sinclair family. Having seen the effects of education deprivation in her own mother’s generation, she holds a strong belief in the rights of girls and women to have equal opportunities in education which leads to improved health and education for the next generation and greater prosperity for the whole community.

Patrick is a lecturer in Law at Malawi University of Business and Applied Science, based in Blantyre. He taught in the secondary school sector in Malawi from 2008-2012. He joined the MMF Board in November 2022. Patrick is also a managing partner of Adrian & Company, a law firm in Zomba, Malawi. He is a member of the Malawi Law Society.

Remmie is the Education Coordinator for the Catholic Diocese of Mzuzu in north Malawi. Remmie and MMF met when he worked as Education Coordinator with the Diocese of Karonga, one of our partners. He has long teaching experience – 4 years in primary school and 14 years in other secondary schools. Through that experience he appreciated the need to support girls in their education. “I consider this as the best way to liberate them from the abject difficulties they suffer due to a number of factors that leave them victims of circumstances. This is why I am glad to be part of the MMF team.”  He joined the MMF Board in 2021.

Mercy is an educationalist from Mzuzu, Malawi, who obtained her Bachelors from Mzuzu University in 2015. She is the Malawi Country Director of the Mamie Martin Fund; she manages all our work there. She has a passion for work that deals with women and children affairs thus, girl child education and empowerment falls under her desired goals.

Moira is retired from paid work and enjoys cycling and learning to play the fiddle. She learned about the work of Mamie Martin when Margaret and John came back from their first trip to Malawi. She was pleased to be able to help with the process of setting up the Mamie Martin Fund and has been involved in one way or another since then. She visited Malawi on behalf of MMF each year between 2015 and 2019.