2006: Mary Coslett

Mary Coslett was nominated by her group Horrabridge, of which she has been a member for 18 years. Mary, a qualified midwife, heard that a medical group was going to Tibet. She had heard that around one in thirty three women die in childbirth and one in ten babies, so she volunteered to join them and at her own expense spent two months living among the people. The conditions were very basic, no running water, no telephones in the towns, rats and mice running above the rooms at night and the roads, little more than dirt tracks around the mountains, are subject to rock falls that blocked the roads.

The group quickly set up clinics providing medicines but the main work was talking about health, the spread if infections and demonstrating simple ideas to make motherhood safe. They also went into the schools in the valleys to talk about dental care and demonstrating tooth brushing and handing out soaps and toothpastes, something the families did not have. Mary intended to return in to help two children who needed to journey to China for operations. She has since set up the Midwifery with Altitude charity with friends, the main aim of which is to help the mothers of Tibet give birth more safely, using up to date techniques and practices.

Margaret Lavelle, last year's winner, presented Mary with the quaich and book token after the conference dinner.