Canadian by birth. Mark: Calgary, Alberta, Canada;Michele: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Education: Mark BSc Chemical Engineering, University of Calgary; Michele B.Comm, University of Calgary
Mark: Technical and Business Development Manager for Imperial Oil (Canada) and ExxonMobil (worldwide); Retired 1 January 2021 after more than 35 years of service.
Married to Michele for 34 years with 3 adult children; We have lived in 6 cities, in 5 countries, on 3 continents; We love to travel and have visited over 40 countries.
Currently residing in Calgary, AB since we love the mountains and the outdoors where we hike, run, cycle, golf, ski, snowshoe, kayak and just about anything else outdoors.
When we moved to Abu Dhabi, UAE in 2007, we met Kevin and Jasmine Brawn. Kevin had been trekking and doing service work in Nepal and introduced us to Rajendra Subedee (2009) who was running a fledgling children’s home in Kathmandu. Michele and I and our youngest daughter Jessica went and spent a week with Rajendra in Kathmandu to learn about his mission and vision for the future. After just one week, we fell in love with all the OCEAN Nepal children and connected deeply with the passion that Rajendra had to eventually have his own orphanage. The greatest obstacle for him in getting this going was acquiring the land to build the home. Here is where we could make a difference. We worked with Rajendra and in the next month we were able to secure a plot of land for the future home. Thinking it would take several years to raise enough money to build the home, we started fundraising as best we could. Over the course of the next few months, several key benefactors stepped forward with enough money to begin construction. Within a year, the OCEAN Nepal kids were moving in on the first floor. Additional floors were added and more children joined the OCEAN Nepal family. The organization peaked with about 16 children living at Ramro Sathi, the name of the home which means “best friends” in Nepali.
Over the years, Michele and I have been back to Ramro Sathi more than a dozen times. Additionally, each of our three children have spent considerable time there. Our eldest daughter lived there for 3 months and our eldest son (medical student) worked in the Nepali countryside medical outposts for a month. We consider Rajendra and the OCEAN Nepal family as part of our family.
For Michele and I the OCEAN Nepal project is so much more than just charitable giving. It is about giving these children a real chance at a safe, happy and productive life where they will not only be able to take of themselves but also give back to the community and take care of their families too. Our official role with OCEAN Nepal is “international advisor”, which is mostly being responsible for fundraising, expense and income reporting and overall stewardship of the sponsorship money people donate to the organization. More important, perhaps, than our official planning and accounting roles is our relationship with Rajendra – working with and advising him as he runs his trekking business, manages all aspects of the OCEAN Nepal organization and is father to some 16 children – plus two of his own! It is a complex world with many competing priorities.
Michele or I speak with Rajendra on at least a weekly basis. He is extremely diligent and responsible for all expenses at Ramro Sathi as well as trying to be a good dad to all the kids – sometimes with tough love as necessary! Michele and I can’t wait to resume our annual trip to Nepal once worldwide travel gets back going again.
