Congratulations to Linda Markee or “Mom Linda” as she is affectionately called by Haitian and American team members. Linda, a founding board member of Haiti Foundation of Hope and the board secretary, was recently awarded the 2011 Humanitarian Award from the Duke University School of Nursing. Linda graduated from the school with a bachelor of science in nursing in 1963.
“Linda’s organizational and leadership skills, her compassion for the Haitian people, and her unwavering service to them exemplify Duke University School of Nursing’s commitment to eliminate health disparities,” Dean Catherine L. Gilliss said in a statement announcing the award.
In 1993 Linda took her first trip to Haiti as a medical aide and team photographer with Haiti Medical Teams, a short-term medical group from Yakima, Washington. She took similar trips the following three years and in 1997 moved with her husband, Dr. Joe Markee, to Leogane, Haiti, to work as a Presbyterian missionary. After returning to the United States in 1999, they led five short-term medical teams to Terre Blanche in remote northern Haiti. In 2005 they founded Haiti Foundation of Hope. Today, Linda continues to be a vital part of the day-to-day operations of Haiti Foundation of Hope and the Markees lead several medical teams to Haiti each year.
“Sometimes in the later years of life, one can find there are many useful skills that God uses to fulfill his work on earth. I believe this to be true for me,” Linda said. “When we started the foundation I had no idea what this would mean in my lifestyle, or the work involved, nor did I dream the delight and satisfaction it would bring to my life and to the lives of so many Haitians.”
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