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Bev Thompson was born to
Canadian missionaries, employed by the Christian and Missionary
Alliance, in Guinea, West Africa. She attended Mamou Alliance Academy
from 1958 to 1968.
Until her early 30's, she had almost no memories of her years at Mamou. As memories of abandonment, abuse, neglect and intolerable sadness surfaced, she began her healing journey. Her journey, along with that of her sister, Marilyn Christman, converged with David and Rich Darr's search for understanding their Mamou experience. In August of 2004, the four of them invited Mamou alumni to a weekend meeting in which they began telling their stories to one another. At the end of that weekend they made the decision to organize as a Mamou group to address the abuses they had experienced. After a long, ten-year struggle with the C&MA, an Independent Commission of Inquiry (ICI) was formed and the many abuses at Mamou were investigated. When the Mamou ICI Final Report was published, the Mamou Steering committee was contacted by MK's from other C&MA boarding schools and from other missions. The group evolved into MK Safety Net in order to become a resource for MK's from many places. When asked what she has gained from this advocacy work, her response is "I moved out from under the cloak of secrecy that had shrouded me from others and from myself. I found and used my voice to tell my story and help others tell theirs. I developed a profound connection with other MK's from whom I had been isolated as a child. I found companionship on my healing journey." |