Martine Courvoisier (2009 ISSRPL)

I joined ATD Fourth World International Movement Volunteer Corps in 1987. I first encountered families living in chronic poverty in the United Kingdom then spent 2 years in Republic of the Philippines (South-East Asia) working at grass-root level in slums, with the more specific charge of creating a pre-school within Manila North Cemetery, in order to teach English to the children of the families who used to squat there. Back in France, at the ATD Fourth World headquarters, I was asked to be in charge of the “International Permanent Forum on Extreme Poverty in the World”, a worldwide network of independent correspondents working at the grass roots level, engaged in counteracting poverty and exclusion. I left ATD Fourth World Movement for a little over a decade and worked in the Planning Department of the famous Lourdes Shrine, in Southern France, visited by over 6 millions pilgrims every year from the world over, part of whom come from other than Christian creed. I got to meet Muslims, a Jewish Rabbi, Buddhist Monks, and Shinto adepts. After spending a year with an association caring for the elderly mentally-handicapped people (one of whom, Elizabeth, lived with me, in my home), I was appointed Chaplain to a local hospital in rural Brittany, by the Local Roman Catholic Authorities.

Diana Skelton (2008 ISSRPL)

Diana Skelton is from Washington, DC and is part of the full-time Volunteer Corps of ATD Fourth World, a movement of partnership with people living in extreme poverty working toward a more fair society. ATD’s work includes supporting families and individuals through its grass-roots presence and involvement in disadvantaged communities, creating public awareness of extreme poverty and influencing policies. Diana is currently part of ATD’s International Leadership Team, based in France. Previously she worked with ATD’s projects in Madagascar and New York City where she directed a UN-funded study entitled /”How Poverty Separates Parents and Children: A Challenge to Human Rights.” She is married and has three daughters.