Mary Slessor
 FONDLY known as “Ma” and “White Queen of Calabar” Mary Slessor is fondly remembered in Nigeria and Calabar in particular, where she worked as a Scottish missionary for many years from 1876 until her death in 1915.
Mary was timid by nature but formidable when it came to her faith or having her own way. She learnt the custom and Efik, the local language; spoke out about human sacrifice, the flogging of women and the killing of twins, which was rife at that time. She never married but adopted many children, especially twins.
In addition to being a missionary, she was the first female magistrate in Southern Nigeria of her time. She was awarded the Silver Cross in 1914 and granted a full state funeral upon her death. In Dundee a stained glass window is dedicated to her memory at the Macmanus Galleries and her likeness is featured on Clydesdale's £10 note. A play about her life by Mike Gibb will be shown at Mitchell Theatre in Glasgow 15-18 October 2008. Tel 08700 132652 for more details or visit www.secxtra.com
Today, Mary Slessor's Nigerian residence is a tourist attraction and the spirit of her work is carried on by the Mary Slessor Foundation, (“MSF”)which was established by Dr Lawrie Mitchell, who himself received an MBE from the Queen in June 2008 for his services to community development in Africa/Nigeria.
 MSF has recently launched its 5 year self sustainable plan which will see the project becoming totally self sustaining under a completely Nigerian management team within 5 years.
The Foundation is responsible for 3 main projects namely:
1) The Skills workshop where training is provided in tailoring, carpentry, shoe making, fabrics, mechanical engineering, metalwork, vehicle maintenance and driving.
The centre has secured its first major contract, supplying school desks for a local school in Calabar and the profit will be used to buy more materials.
Petula Codrington, a volunteer with the VSO programme is a fabric designer from London . She is with the project for 2 years and hopes to have the foundation's first fashion show in December 2008.
2) The Medical Project which helps to prevent and treat the usual illness such as malaria, typhoid, cholera and HIV/Aids and specialises in peri-natal medicine.
The centre's catchment area is a 45km radius which inhabits approx 45,000 people.
It has been open for 18months and has treated over 2000 people. Since its opening there has been no mother/infant death or deaths from malaria and over 30 babies have been delivered. The Centre is now beginning to gain the confidence of the local population which relies almost totally on traditional birthing methods.
3) Agriculture - the villagers plant palm kernels and cassava which is then sold as palm oil for cosmetics and cassava is made into “Gari” the staple diet of the area.
The agricultural sector is now self sustaining and making enough revenue to supply the medical centre with much needed medical supplies.
Today, MSF continues to seek funding towards these projects and volunteers for its skills project. Recently it has launched another campaign to raise £20k funding for solar power which will be used for the following requirements:
Building 1 Clinic 1 : 24 Fluorescent lighting points, 1 Operating light, 12 ceiling fans, 1 desktop and 1 TV;
Building 2 Clinic 2: 10 low energy lighting points, 1 refrigerator, 1 chest freezer, 1 desktop, 2 TV sets and 6 ceiling fans;
Building Staff quarters: 12 fluorescent lighting points, 6 ceiling fans, 2 TV sets and 2 refrigerators;
Building Skill Centre : 8 electric sewing machines, 8 ceiling fans and 12 fluorescentlighting points;
Boreholes: 2, with 1.5 h.p submersible pumps.
If you would like to make a donation towards any of the above, or be a volunteer, please visit please visit the website at http://www.maryslessor.org/Support_Us/support_us.html or email Gary Mitchell at
lgm23@btinternet.com
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