TRIBUTE: Honouring the selfless legacy of Tracey Lee Koen

It is with mixed feelings that we say goodbye to our beloved sister in Christ, and house mother of St Martin’s Village.

Mixed because we are parted from her by her death, but overjoyed for her because she now rests in Christ.

Tracey sadly passed away on August 24, after fighting diabetes for 34 years.

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Tracey joined us at St Martins at the end of January 2017, where she was the ‘Place of Safety Mother’ for six abandoned and vulnerable babies, before they could be returned to their families of origin or placed in adoptive or long-term foster care.

So passionate was Tracey in caring for children, that she took a significant reduction in salary in order to be able to serve the children, initially at Home Meah and thereafter at St Martins.

She was often heard expressing her deep love for each individual child at St Martins.

These precious little treasures were cared for by Tracey and those under her supervision, and the impact of this faithful woman of God, tirelessly working for the sake of the babies, was a powerful testimony to her calling as a servant of God.

In Christ’s eyes, these are the most precious.

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Tracey adored her charges, and although her task was tiring, endless, and often frustrating, she always served with great love, passion and joy.

To say she was a great example to us at St Martins would be an understatement.

St Martins is a registered Non-Profit Organisation with the aim of facilitating growth of a vibrant and compassionate community, which provides care for those in need and opportunities to serve by those who have been put in a position to do so.

We are not a child and youth centre, but we assist people like Tracey to care for the most vulnerable in the community, by providing them with the resources and a support network so they can create a family environment for these helpless children.

By placing the babies in a family environment, we strive to avoid institutionalising children.

We are thankful God has provided us with a dedicated, diligent and able successor to Tracey in Thekla Böhmer.

We are humbled by, and thankful for, the overwhelming support Tracey received from the community.

We pray Thekla will be blessed with the same support as she continues Tracey’s legacy.

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