Jeff’s Corner: Mayte Picco-Kline & the Peace Pilgrim Translations Project

Mayte Picco-Kline shares a smile with Peace Pilgrim’s 105-year-old sister, Helene Young

Mayte (short for Maria Teresa) Picco-Kline is a Mexican woman who had a career with Ford Motor Company of Mexico. She rose to become one of the highest ranking women executives in the company in that country, responsible for the personal development of 14,000 Ford executives and employees. She married another Ford Executive, Robert Kline. After they retired, they moved to Pennsylvania and Mayte became an American citizen.

She first learned about Peace Pilgrim in 1989 at a Quaker meetinghouse near her home in Lancaster, PA. Something about Peace Pilgrim touched her deeply, enough for her to make the journey to the Peace Pilgrim center, at that time located in John and Ann Rush’s house in Hemet, CA. That is where I first met her. 

At that time, we had a Spanish language version of Peace Pilgrim’s Steps toward Inner Peace that was originally translated in Venezuela and revised by Claudio Zanelli, a Chilean who I met at an Amnesty International gathering in Sacramento, CA around 1986. 

Mayte suggested an interest in possibly translating Friends of Peace Pilgrim’s free book, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words, into Spanish. I agreed to work with her to bring that project to fruition. After Mayte finished the translation, Brian Moucka, a professional graphic designer, who had originally designed and typeset the early editions of our FoPP newsletter, designed the cover and typeset the Spanish Peace Pilgrim book. He used the English language Peace Pilgrim book as a model. 

I arranged for Spanish speaking people from 16 countries to proofread the book before it actually went into production in 1991. Since then, we have sent thousands of copies of the Spanish language Peace Pilgrim book to prisoners who regularly write us requesting copies.

Cheryl Canfield, one of the original Peace Pilgrim book compilers, and I flew to Mexico and met with Mayte, who translated a talk we gave about Peace Pilgrim. We had a wonderful time travelling around Mexico with her.

Because of Mayte’s dedicated and tireless work on Peace Pilgrim projects, we invited her to become a board member of Friends of Peace Pilgrim, an offer she accepted in 2006. In that role, she specifically took on the mission to make the Peace Pilgrim book and Steps Toward Inner Peace booklet available around the world. It is thanks to Mayte that we now have the Peace Pilgrim book in 18 languages and the Steps Toward Inner Peace booklet in 38 different languages, all easily downloadable for free from the Peace Pilgrim website. 

Mayte is in touch with many translators of different languages in diverse locations. She facilitates their process to turn their translations into books and booklets. Mayte also credits her husband, Bob, who scanned 9 books and 17 Steps booklets to extend the online library to a wider audience. For each project, Mayte has worked closely with the translators, most of whom reach out to Friends of Peace Pilgrim after experiencing the same kind of inspiration that she felt upon learning about Peace Pilgrim. Their final creation may take years and much dedication. 

“It is a tremendous accomplishment for those who choose to translate Peace Pilgrim words and we share deep gratitude for their commitment,” she said.

Likewise, the Board shares deep gratitude for Mayte’s ongoing efforts. She has done a stupendous job!

Mayte is the author of Wholeness in Living ~ Kindling the Inner Light. She participates in the activities of the Sabian Assembly, a cooperative project for expanding human potential. With her sparkling eyes and bright smile she said, "Experiencing peace has been a core value in my life. Peace Pilgrim and the Sabian Assembly are essential in the fulfillment of my mission as a bridge person for the attainment of inner peace, trusting that when enough of us experience inner peace we will have peace in the world.”

Spanish translation of the Peace Pilgrim book done by Mayte Picco-Kline

Mayte Picco-Kline and Helene Young sit in Peace Pilgrim Park near a Peace Pilgrim statue and peace tiles made by local high school students in Egg Harbor City, NJ.