Mapendo International's mission is simple: to create a safety net for people in Africa who are fleeing violence, whose lives are at risk, and who have no access to humanitarian aid.

We are focused on identifying and helping individuals, families and communities that are in extreme danger. Among these are victims of massacre and terror and those in danger of dying from HIV/AIDS. They include widows, orphans, rape victims, torture survivors, and targets of genocide. Often such people find themselves in places where they are not accepted. Undocumented and unwelcome, they fall through the cracks of international aid efforts. They lack basic human rights and have desperate psychological and physical needs. They have nowhere to turn. Mapendo's objective is to provide life-saving help to the forgotten and dispossessed of the world - those who have fled war and persecution, who have no place to call home and no means to survive with dignity.

Mapendo is action oriented. We identify needs and implement solutions. Through our rescue operations in east and central Africa and in our Nairobi medical clinic serving HIV/AIDS victims and others with critical medical needs, we are reaching out to thousands of people whose struggle to survive would otherwise go unnoticed and unattended.

Mapendo's main area of operations

Because of the very sensitive nature of Mapendo's work, specific names of those Mapendo is assisting must remain confidential. However, Mapendo's programs include:

Rescue and Protection

Mapendo International identifies and assists individuals, families and groups of people fleeing war and conflict who need urgent and lifesaving assistance. We work with governments, the United Nations, and other aid agencies to identify durable solutions for people in danger. We are actively assisting refugees across east and central Africa through this initiative.

[Kakuma refugee camp in Northwest Kenya]

 

Health Initiative

Mapendo International serves some of the most vulnerable survivors of Africa's wars and conflicts through our medical clinic in Nairobi, which works to keep alive and provide health care to HIV positive people, torture survivors, widows with children, and others at risk who have urgent medical needs and no access to health care.

[Urban refugees living in Nairobi-click for photographs]

Awareness Programs

Mapendo International undertakes photography and video projects to raise awareness and understanding for marginalized refugee communities. This information is then exhibited and distributed in the United States through collaborations with refugee resettlement agencies and community-based organizations.

[Image from Somali Bantu Photography Project]