Mabawa in Swahili means “Wings for Africa”.  The idea of Mabawa was born in Lugano Switzerland in 1998 to help children in Africa’s Great Lakes Region (Eastern Congo, Burundi and Rwanda) recover from the protracted regional wars of the last 10 years and the infamous 1994 Rwandan genocide.  Started as a grassroots project, founder, Katrine Morizot-Keller’s vision quickly grew in scope with the help of friends who volunteered their time and expertise.

In 2004, Mabawa became a Swiss government-sanctioned non-profit organization in its ongoing efforts to help the fractured communities “help themselves”. Today, Mabawa builds and establishes schools, funds and develops agricultural, waterworks and business projects in the region to further local capacity-building. Unique microcredit endeavors in certain projects are also part of the effort to create opportunities for the local population to generate income, alternative employment prospects and further promote self-reliance.

Related project

• A Second Life village and fund raising campaign for Mabawa