Mother Maryam
Who was Mother Maryam?
The Mother Maryam Foundation for Humanitarian Development was founded in honor of the late Hajja Maryam Saeed, who lived her entire life in the village of Zawrat in the Northern Province of Sudan. Married to Abdelrahim Abdelgadir, she raised four sons and five daughters. In addition to taking care of her children and her home, she raised chickens and goats, kept pigeons, and grew beans on her plot on the banks of the Nile.
A hard worker, Mother Maryam added her production to that of her husband, to provide the family with sustenance and to generously provide hospitality to visitors and for celebrations. Without fanfare, she helped many villagers when they found themselves in need. It was only at her funeral that her family learned that over the years, she had secretly helped others in the village when they needed eggs, milk, meat, beans, grain, or dates to feed their families.
In addition to being a wonderful mother, aunt, and grandmother, Mother Maryam was the matriarch of the village. She helped and advised many villagers and she was also the leader for village ceremonies and celebrations.
Following her example of service to her community, her son, Awad Abdelrahim Abdelgadir, although he lives in Austin, Texas, has continued helping the people of his village by implementing humanitarian projects to improve their lives. His business, Nile Valley Herbs, Inc., supports these projects, which have been implemented with the support and assistance of Rotary International, ECHO, and numerous individual contributors.
Projects that we have dedicated to the memory of Mother Maryam include: the clean drinking water project, completed in early 2002 and still providing the villagers with clean water from a deep well; the school project, supporting the village schools; the seed project, providing men and women with vegetable seeds to help them enhance the diet of their families; and other projects.
These projects were made possible by Rotary International, numerous Rotary Clubs including South Austin and Khartoum, ECHO, Austin and area schools, many individual contributors, and customers of Nile Valley Herbs hibiscus tea.
Mother Maryam Foundation's main current project is the clinic project, which will provide preventive, routine, and emergency medical care - as well as health education -- for Zawrat and the neighboring villages.