OUR MISSION

Mother’s Heritage is aimed to be an agent of social change and refuge for at-risk girls in Ghana. The entire idea behind our organization is to provide a safe, healthy environment for growth and education for our girls who seek refuge from harmful labor practices and treatment on Lake Volta. Learn more about conditions on the lake and our plan here.

Our initiatives: provide rescue and refuge young female slaves from Lake Volta, medical and educational missions on Lake Volta, teach women self-sustainable vocational skills, and community education outreach.

How we work: All of our social initiatives are efforts that work together to stop the cycle of forced child labor on Volta Lake, and create positive change for women in Ghana.

WHO WE ARE

Ariel McGuireCo-Founder

Born and raised in Virginia, USA, Ariel graduated from university in 2014 with a degree in Religious Studies. She studied abroad in Ghana in 2012, traveled through West and East Africa, lived and traveled in SE Asia during 2015-2016, and returned to work in Ghana during the summer of 2017. As a very curious, vivacious, and strong willed young woman, her experiences over time have evoked a fervent belief and passion for education and empowerment of women. After seeing and experiencing first hand the type of change that needs to happen in Ghana, paired with the ability to create it within reach, she jumped on the opportunity to create MHI with Fafa.

Fafali NukunuCo-Founder

Fafa, short for Fafali, grew up in Volta Region, Ghana. She graduated from nursing college in 2015 and is now a registered nurse in Ghana. Experiences from living with family members sparked a fire which would later give birth to her passion for social justice and education for young girls. She particularly has a soft spot for women and girls who have suffered from any form of sexual abuse and, as a result, has been working with nonprofits and advocating social justice since she was a teenager. Fafa, intelligent, passionate and determined, has always been passionate about giving back to her community and is ready to spearhead MHI.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

We believe that education is the foundation of true freedom. A leader inspires and brings out the best in their people rather than give them the answers. We choose to educate at the heart of what we do, so people are free to make their own educated decisions towards a stable, healthy life. We believe education truly changes lives and we strive to always incorporate it in the decisions we make.

We believe in giving our girls the tools they need in order to be successful, whether that is in the classroom or sustaining their families. We believe it is important to manifest the skills it takes to endure long-term success, so we not only function this way as an organization but also in how we educate our girls.

Our aim is to help transform the entire well-being of our girls. Their health is our top priority. Whether it is physical, mental or emotional, we are aiming to help each girl in personal development. We believe every person has a basic human right to live a healthy, stable life.

This is the core of who we are and what we do as an organization. Our hope is that every person that comes into contact with our organization becomes empowered in some way. This is the core of each of our social initiatives, and our goal with every one of our girls. We believe that empowerment is the breeding ground for positive change, and that every girl has the right to dream and live out anything they want to be. That is what we fight for.