Stichting Mineke Foundation

Algemene informatie

Contact details: +231778158019 | +231881676656

Mineke Foundation is an NGO founded in 2009 by Tonia Dabwe to continue her parents' work. The foundation works in Liberia, West Africa, one of the poorest countries in the world. It is named after Tonia's mother who went missing during the Liberian civil war. Mineke Foundation focuses on the social and economical empowerment of the people in Dabwe Town and surrounding communities, helping them become self-reliant. Our goal is a mentality change in Liberia, starting in Dabwe Town, with residents taking responsibility for their own life, development and future.

Founder Tonia Dabwe: "Back in 1968, my parents were the first inhabitants of the area that is today known as Dabwe Town. The community that grew around them named itself after my father to honor the efforts my parents made to help develop the community.
Their efforts were centred around my father's vision that a country dependent on food imports, is a country enslaved. My father dedicated his life to teaching others. First through his work at the Liberian ministry of Agriculture, and later through his 4-acre experimental farm, where he showed visitors on a daily basis what could be achieved with simple and inexpensive methods, using only what is indigenous to Liberia. Through the Damiefa primary school, founded in 1982, he taught schoolchildren elementary skills and basic agriculture, which they could use when helping their families grow their own food. In addition to this, they built roads, constructed simple bridges, introduced running water and electricity, sponsored schoolchildren, and supported small businesses.

The Liberian civil war, which started on Christmas Eve, 1989, put an end to their work, and eventually, destroyed most of what they had worked so hard to attain and their family happiness. My mother Mineke has been missing since.

But now a new, peaceful era has begun. My vision is to continue what my parents started. I founded Mineke Foundation in January 2009 to pursue this objective."