Sustainable community development
The mission of Friends from Makeni is to promote sustainable community development, empower the less fortunate, and provide community service through projects that directly benefit Makeni City and its citizens.
Friends From Makeni began with a group chat between friends in Philadelphia. It is now an organised body of volunteers on two continents, working to the same simple idea: nobody from home should be left without help that we could have given.
In June 2015 a handful of Makeni natives in Philadelphia came together over a single hospital bill back home. The response from Makeni was immediate, and so were the next requests. Rather than answer them one by one, we organised.
We wrote a constitution, elected officers and set our rules in writing. We agreed that priorities would be set by members living in Makeni, not by those of us who had left. Since then FFM has supported school terms, medical relief, water repairs and seasonal food distributions — and held an annual gathering where the community comes together.
The gateway in our crest is deliberate. A gate is not a wall. It is the point where two sides meet, and it is where we intend to stand.
Our motto
Building stronger communities through service
The mission of Friends from Makeni is to promote sustainable community development, empower the less fortunate, and provide community service through projects that directly benefit Makeni City and its citizens.
A city where a child's schooling, a mother's delivery and a family's clean water never depend on whether help arrives in time.
Open books to every member. One family across borders and beliefs. Support offered as partnership, never as charity handed down.
This sequence is fixed. No project moves forward until the step before it is complete and recorded in the minutes.
Whether you are in Philadelphia, elsewhere in the States, or in Makeni itself — if you want to work, there is a place for you here.