Mary MacMakin

Mary MacMakin founded Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Support for Afghanistan (PARSA) in 1996. Through the 1960's and 1970's and into the 1980's, Mary worked as a physical therapist in the hospitals of Kabul. She returned in the early 1990's to teach physical therapists in Taloqan, a city in northern Afghanistan, and later to teach in the capital, Kabul. After experiencing the desperation of the widows in the spring of 1996, she decided to establish a non-governmental organization (NGO) to provide comprehensive services to disabled Afghans and the widows of Afghanistan.

Throughout its history, PARSA has flourished under the leadership of its founder, Mary MacMakin. Despite imprisonment under Taliban and exile to Pakistan, Mary continued to expand PARSA.

In the spring of 2005, Marnie and Dr. Norm Gustavson joined Mary to assist her in transitioning PARSA into an Afghan directed NGO. In 2006, Mary retired to Bisbee, Arizona, with her husband, Bob.