Marie Roumy

Marie Roumy (born January 14, 1924, in La Charité-sur-Loire, France; died February 23, 2013, in Douala, Cameroon) was a French and later Cameroonian religious sister.

Originally a teacher, she settled in the poor neighborhoods of Douala, where she improved sanitation, established schools, hospitals, a savings cooperative, provided jobs for young people, founded the Chain of Saint-Nicodème Homes for street children, training centers, and shelters for prostitutes.

Biography Marie Roumy was born on January 14, 1924, in the hamlet of Sainte-Hélène near La Charité-sur-Loire, in the department of Nièvre.

After becoming a religious sister, she moved to Cameroon and began teaching at a missionary school in Douala, the capital, in 1949. She later became the director of this school but eventually handed over her responsibilities to the local Cameroonian population and began teaching in the poor neighborhoods. She also organized training centers for them in crafts.

Marie Roumy created centers for welcoming, listening to, and sheltering prostituted girls.

In early 2013, Marie Roumy was injured while trying to protect a young person during a brawl, and she later fell ill. She died a few weeks later, on February 23, 2013, in a clinic in Douala. She was buried on February 27, 2013.

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