Our Programs
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Community Food Bank
Food justice is an important part of community justice. We take donations from local businesses and use them to fight hunger. Help us connect with donors and with people in need.
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Volunteer Service Sundays
Every Sunday, we mobilize our teams of volunteers to make a real difference. Join us and see what can be accomplished when you get an impassioned team to focus on change.
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Community Connections
Our community is full of people who want to help. We work to help the people providing services with the people who need them. Come connect with people in new ways.
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School Opportunities
We advocate for the youth to give them opportunities to address their academic challenges, secure their career, enroll in college, obtain scholarships and financial aid, and more.
Our Services in Twin Cities
Youth need wholesome activities that prepare them for adulthood and future success. Mako Foundation provides after-school opportunities and networking opportunities for youth to improve their academic outcomes, explore careers, enroll in college, obtain scholarships and financial aid, and navigate higher education. The program works with both parents and youth to bring them closer together, understanding each other’s perspectives and improving parent-youth communication.
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Our Services in Ethiopian
In Ethiopia, it’s unfortunate millions of school-aged children will never attend school. Perhaps even more shocking is the fact that even the ones that have a chance to attend school will learn so little while they are in school that they will not be much better off than those kids who never attend school. Therefore, the forecast for Ethiopia’s future economic growth and development is poor.
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The lack of education creates several problems to individuals and society which leads to poverty; however, for children that are not attending school, there are other dangers waiting for them-including sexual abuse, child prostitute, rape and poverty, and street life.
Millions of these children are at risk of ending up on the streets. For example, girls who work on the streets most likely face sexual abuse by adults, rape, unwanted pregnancy and early motherhood –sometimes as young as 12 year’s old. Inevitably, they are highly at risk of being infected with
HIV/AIDS.
There are number of reasons why children in Ethiopia do not stay in school, ranging from inability to pay for school supplies and some of them require child labor to support the family. Education is the backbone of success and the tool that pulls individuals, and entire countries, out of poverty. That’s why the lives and the health of the women and children are so crucial for our cause. MAKO FOUNDATION is dedicated to bringing changes in these kids’ lives.
Challenges East African Face in Minnesota
East African refugee families are struggling to adjust to their new home and competing cultures. Youth of course are adopting faster than their parents because they are learning English more quickly, and they are embracing the values, dress, and behaviors of their peers. This in turn causes distress for their parents who have cultural expectations of them that their children see as outdated, embarrassing, and/or too restrictive.
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Consequently, some of the young people are acting out their frustration of trying to walk in two very different worlds, by skipping school, or self-medicating with drugs/alcohol. They are vulnerable to gang recruitment or radicalization, and other illegal activity. There is a widening gap between parents and children that results in conflict at home and affects all the family members.
The impact of our work is an increase in their grades, a decrease in law enforcement interaction/criminal activity, an improvement in parent-youth relationships, and youth making better decisions in their peer groups. Through this program, youth have consistent adult supervision during the after-school and summer activities. This is especially important when parents are working two or three jobs.
The program works with East African youth from refugee families who are low income and many of whom are considered at-risk youth. It understands that when working with refugee youth one must also work with the parents to help them understand the educational and other systems their children interface with on a regular basis. Most of these youth will be the first in their family to go on to higher education, which is a complex system to navigate. The organization helps them to explore their post-secondary options, apply to colleges, do their FAFSA, apply for scholarships and grants, and generally get acquainted with their college campus and programs. The program brings professionals from the STEM fields to speak with the youth about career options and encouraging them to consider a career in a STEM field. Refugee communities, as well as many other communities or color and indigenous communities, are underrepresented in the STEM fields and position of management and leadership. This program brings speakers to talk with the youth in a more intimate setting where they can connect and ask any question they would like about the field or the preparation necessary to enter these fields.