Welcome to Mama Makeka House of Hope

Mama Makeka House of Hope (MMH Hope) will turn 18 on June 18, 2021. At that age among the Chokwe people that I am from in the DR Congo, boys turn into adults. The ultimate sign of turning into adulthood is when the one who was once living in his parent’s home is able to build his own. Mind you, his house is not built by his efforts alone. His parents, siblings, friends and even foreigners living in the village might have lent hands in building it. It is usually then and only then that he can be trusted to build responsible and long-lasting relationships. It is only then that he can freely invite friends and sojourners and the weary for a meal and lodging in his house he would have turned into a home. 

Just like the Chokwe boy, we are at that same stage of life as MMH Hope. Fresno, California, has provided us a nice home during our past 17 years. Time has come to move into our permanent home in the DR Congo. As I am writing you this letter, the construction phase of our home in Kinshasa is completed. In less than two weeks I will share with you the final product and our vision for the future as we transition from Fresno, California, to Kinshasa, DR Congo. In this e-mail, I want to briefly review with you the journey we have traveled together in the past 17 years. 

Many of you will recall that Mama Makeka House of Hope was established in 2002 in memory of my mother, Mama Makeka Rebecca, who died suddenly in Kinshasa due to poor health care services. We have shared regularly about how throughout her life, Mama Makeka believed that there was always room for other people around her table and in her life.  MMH Hope has adopted her motto as our own: “There is always room for one more”.  It is largely this generosity of hers that inspires us, but we are also inspired by the Anabaptist principles by which she lived in the context of the Frères Mennonites Community in which she lived and ministered in the DR Congo. 

Mama Makeka House of Hope was developed around the mission of promoting, advocating, and funding initiatives related to Global Health, Peacebuilding, Education, and Leadership Development, focusing on rural and professional communities in the DR Congo.  We also envision bringing hope, hospitality, nurture, faith, and leadership empowerment to communities and individuals who suffer from lack of health and educational opportunities and from repression, violence, and conflict.    

Our past and future activities are guided by values rooted in African Ubuntu and Anabaptist traditions intended to integrate intellectual, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual dimensions of persons and communities, including respect for people diversity and the environment, compassion for the suffering, integrity, honesty, trustworthiness, authenticity, excellence, peace, and justice. 

-Pakisa Tshimika, Executive Director & Founder