A Bury woman who has dedicated her life to helping others made the ultimate commitment last month when she took her final vows as a Maryknoll Missioner in Guatemala.

Sister Dee Marie Smith has been living in the remote Guatemala region for the last six years working with Aids patients and educating local people about Aids prevention.

She took her final vows last month and says she is looking forward to the future.

"If I want to be part of a movement to effect change I must be faithful to the commitment. I am in it for the long haul," said Sister Dee reflecting on her momentous day.

Forty-five-year-old Sister Dee lived in Brandlesholme Road, Bury, and is a former pupil of the Derby High School. She is the oldest of three children and was a devout member of St Hilda's Parish Church in Tottington. She graduated from St Mary's College in London with a degree in Education in 1976 and travelled to Kenya where she taught English in rural schools.

Before entering the Maryknoll Missionary, Sister Dee served as a lay missioner for 13 years in Kenya with the Volunteer Missionary Movement.

It was there she co-ordinated an education programme for semi-nomadic cattle herders in eastern Baringo.

Sister Dee first heard about of the Maryknoll sisters in 1980 when she read about the death of four church women in El Salvador, South America. She got in touch with the movement and has never looked back.

She entered the missionary service in 1990 and took her first vows two years later.

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