Winter 2001 Issue
The Life and Legacy of Louise Martin
Scholarship for African students established in memory of Louise Martin, EIS ‘85
Mary Louise Martin, D.V.M., M.S., EIS ’85, was among the 12 Americans and more than 200 Kenyans killed when a terrorist bomb exploded at the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, on August 7, 1998. Her short life – dying four days shy of her 46th birthday – impacted people so greatly that friends and colleagues provided the seed money for The Louise Martin, D.V.M., M.S., EIS ’85, Memorial Scholarship Endowment, which supports vital educational opportunities for impoverished Kenyan women. A fitting tribute, her friends say, for the person that Martin was.
Improving the lives of children was very important to Martin. Originally trained as a veterinarian, she completed CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) training program in Atlanta in 1987. She went on to conduct research at CDC on birth defects and developmental problems, particularly in the area of fetal alcohol syndrome. Martin excelled in her work, and was eventually promoted to director of CDC’s Metropolitan Atlanta Congenital Defects Program.
She married CDC colleague, Doug Klaucke, M.D., M.P.H., EIS ’79, in 1989, and in 1993, they adopted three siblings – Russell, J.R. and Karen. When Klaucke was transferred to Nairobi in 1996 to work on a polio eradication program, Martin took a leave of absence from CDC to spend time helping her children adjust to a new home and a new life.
In the spring of 1998, Martin took a full-time position as associate director of the Malarone Donation Program (MDP), a partnership between The Task Force for Child Survival and Development and Glaxo Wellcome, to determine how best to donate Malarone – a new anti-malarial drug used to reduce suffering and death due to malaria.
Honoring a life
Characterized as generous and caring, Martin’s life made such an impact on her friends and colleagues that contributions were made in her memory to the CDC Foundation and the Malarone Donation Program. Glaxo Wellcome matched the gifts received by the MDP, which were later transferred to the CDC Foundation. The two funds were combined and matched through the Marcus Million Match, a donor challenge program offered by Bernard Marcus through The Marcus Foundation, Inc., which brought the total to nearly $50,000. The CDC Foundation manages the fund, using earnings from the principal to support scholarships at the Limuru Girls’ Centre in Kiambu, Kenya.
The Girls’ Centre is a post-secondary school providing training in agriculture and garmentry, leading to a National Craft Certificate. Through a rigorous selection procedure, the Centre admits 24 students each year from all areas of Kenya.
“The school is very impressive,” says Walter Dowdle, Ph.D., M.S., EIS Hon ’91, director of the Malarone Donation Program. “The Limuru Girls’ Centre takes young women from very disadvantaged circumstances and provides a well-rounded education. It also exposes them to community involvement and teaches them respect and pride. However, it’s a struggle to keep the school going,” he adds.
For those who knew Martin well, the scholarship serves as an appropriate legacy. “The scholarship is right up Louise’s alley,” says Susie Bryson, Martin’s younger sister. “She loved kids and loved anything to do with education. Her philosophy was that children are the future, and if a difference is going to be made in this world, we need to offer kids opportunities and give them our support.” The Louise Martin Scholarship Endowment is a tremendous gift. According to a 1992 UNICEF report, education is an essential factor in determining a young woman’s future in Kenya and the developing world. It means higher paying jobs, an improved standard of living, reduced infant and maternal mortality, increased life expectancy, improved status of women in the family and the community, higher self-esteem, and an increased knowledge of individual rights.
The Legacy
The first two awards from the Louise Martin scholarship endowment were presented in spring 2000. Hellen Atieno Gache, 23, one of the scholarship recipients, has been helping her mother care for her younger siblings after her father died. She also works to help feed the family, leaving no money to pursue further studies.
“Your existence will forever remain a great impact on my future,” she wrote recently to the fund’s donors. “I promise to do my best and not let your efforts down.”
The other scholarship recipient, Francisca N. Manyasi, 22, is the second of five girls. When her mother died a few years ago, the children were chased off the land where they lived. The eldest sister and her husband, who have struggled to support their own family, took them in. Manyasi worked at the local church and sold fish after school to help support her younger sisters.
“I am taking garment-making courses, because after the training, I know I can employ myself,” she wrote. “I also have a plan that if I can get even one machine to use, I can train others in the community to do the same job.”
The fund remains open to additional gifts, which will increase the number of scholarships awarded. Individuals wishing to contribute to The Louise Martin, D.V.M., M.S., EIS ’85, Memorial Scholarship Endowment, may send gifts to the following address:
Advancement Office
CDC Foundation
50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 765
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
- Julie Culwell