Not long after her first child was born, Mama Marie and the Simbo Family moved to Marampa in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone as Pas Simbo changed jobs. Eventually, the family settled in Freetown, the capital of the country.

Soon she was one of 4 wives that were legally married to Pa Simbo. In  a typical polygamous home like that there are lots of jealousies and discontentment, but in the Simbo household there was extraordinary unity and peace and the only way you could tell which child belonged to which mother was by facial resemblances.

Mama Maried loved Jesus from a young age and she passed that on to all her children, going out of her way to instruct us on how to behave and act towards those who were older than us. Through many difficulties, her faith deepened and though she was not literate, she embodied Biblical principles and behavior in very exemplary way.

Mama Marie was born to the Dambo Family on 26th December, 1926 in the village of Njama, Kowa Chiefdom, Moyamba District of Sierra Leone. She was the last child born to her mother(the baby of the family) Mama Baindu. The day of her birth was a joyous occasion, there was a family wedding in the local UB Church, thus she was called "Marriedi". There were several older sisters in the family.

When she was just a teenager she was sent to live with the Simbo Family 12 miles away from home. Eventually she was given in marriage to Mr. Joseph Benjamin Simbo, a school teacher and evangelist. As was common in those days, not long after she was married she became pregnant and as the pregnancy progressed she was sent back to her home village to await the delivery of her first child.

This joyous event took place on 9th February, 1943 with the birth of a baby boy, the first of 10 children she would bare for Pa Simbo. She would later recount to this writer that this was a momentous happening for her as a teenager. The one big help to her was that her mother (Mama Baindu) was the main midwife in the village so she helped Mama Marie in the delivery process. She eventually had 6 boys and 4 girls. The 4th child a boy, did before he was 5 years old.