Mary Martin

Mary Martin is a South Sudanese refugee living in Uganda and one of the most credible community voices on YSAT's Board. She made history as the first elected female Chairperson and Women Representative of Refugee Welfare Council III in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement, a role that placed her at the centre of community governance, advocacy, and accountability in one of Uganda's largest and most complex refugee settlements. Her presence on YSAT's Board is not a symbolic gesture toward community inclusion. It is the real thing.

Mary Martin

Board Member — Advisor on Programme Relevance

• Board Member — YSAT
• Advisor on Programme Relevance and Accountability to Affected Populations — YSAT
• First elected female Chairperson and Women Representative — RWC III, Rhino Camp
• Advisory Board Member — Health Rights (formerly PCAF)

Mary brings over seven years of professional experience as a Community Development Worker with international NGOs including the Danish Refugee Council, Malteser International, and Uganda Red Cross. This career has taken her across the full range of community-level humanitarian work, from protection and health to livelihoods and social cohesion, always rooted in the settlements and the people within them. She has also served as a research assistant in Rhino Camp, contributing to the evidence base that informs how humanitarian response is designed and evaluated.

Beyond her field roles, Mary serves as an Advisory Board Member for Health Rights (formerly PCAF). She is a peace educator, community development advocate, and counsellor for adolescent youth. On YSAT's Board, she holds the role that no external expert can fill: the perspective of someone who lives inside the community YSAT serves, who understands what accountability to affected populations actually means from the receiving end, and who ensures that YSAT's programmes remain grounded in the realities of the people they are designed to reach.