Based in Montréal, Québec, the Mama-Africa Foundation was founded in January 2001 and was officially registered in August 2001 (charity number: 88017 9916 RR0001).

Mama-Africa’s vision originates from the volunteer experiences of two microbiologists, Sophie Chabot and Catherine Boileau, during their 6-month internship at the village hospital in Shirati, Tanzania. Both Sophie and Catherine were deeply affected by the dramatic effect of HIV/AIDS on children in the community. Orphaned, often at a very young age, these children found themselves without education, work skills or family support and commonly ended up living on the streets. They lacked not only money and basic needs, but were, many times, also deprived of their human rights and their dignity.

Inspired to better the lives of these orphans, the two young women, in collaboration with a group of women from the Rao hospital, set up a sponsorship program which would give the orphans access to an education, health services and better nutrition. Through the program, sponsors donated a dollar a day to support an individual child. The success of the program motivated Sophie and Catherine to establish an official Canadian charity dedicated to enabling a better quality of life for women and children whose lives had been affected by HIV. In the next two years, Mama-Africa grew from its tiny roots to encompass not only a sponsorship program, but also a scholarship program and an orphanage housing 10 children.

In 2002, Force Avenir , a Quebec organization whose aim is to recognize young, socially conscious citizens dedicated to the betterment of others, awarded the Foundation with $15,000 for the “Project par Excellence” prize.

Unfortunately, in 2004, the partnership between Mama-Africa and the Rao Women’s Group (RWG) faced difficulties and the Foundation was obligated to change Tanzanian partners in order to ensure that managers were not personally exploiting finances and that the support provided to the children was not compromised. In its stead, a partnership was formed between Mama-Africa and Dr. Esther Kawira, the director of the Shirati Health and Education Development Foundation, which continues to support the orphan community in Shirati.

Marcia McKenzie joined Mama-Africa in 2005 to replace Sophie Chabot as president; and with her, she brought a new partnership: one with the Bonda Art and Craft Centre (BACC) in Bonda, Zimbabwe. Marcia had travelled to Zimbabwe as part of her job as a desk officer working for the Canadian International Development Agency. Like Sophie and Catherine, she was overwhelmed by the difficult life endured by rural Zimbabweans, but also, won over by the can-do spirit of the women that she met through her travels, namely Gladys and the women of BACC.

The BACC is a registered cooperative of women led by Gladys Mukaratirwa, who produce batik as a means of generating income for themselves, their families and AIDS orphans in the community. Most of these women have lost their husbands because of AIDS, and many are HIV+ themselves.

Because of the decline in tourism in recent years (resulting from the country’s current political situation), the women had lost their steady clientele. Marcia, enthusiastic about their beautiful batik, brought the work back with her to Montreal in hopes of finding a clientele in Canada. Terry Taylor of Ten Thousand Villages (TTV), Pointe Claire has been selling their batik for two years now, and has served as a beta site to further develop a western market for Zimbabwean batik.

Since then, Marcia has met many other artisans whose art and craft Mama-Africa promotes. Some of them, including the Batsiranai Craft Project, are, like BACC, groups of women who, having lost their husbands, have taken charge of their lives and sustain their communities through their work. Others, such the Nyanga sculptors and weavers and Nalikuleni Gama, are gifted artists who donate 25% of their revenues towards AIDS orphan care.

By fundraising for sustainable income-generation projects and orphan care, as well as marketing Zimbabwean crafts in North America, Mama-Africa supports its vision of enabling a better life for women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe and Tanzania.