About Us

CRADLE Africa Foundation, Inc. is a U.S.-based 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives and wellbeing of vulnerable South Sudanese children and families through lifesaving assistance, education and advocacy, as well as integrated community-based solutions and programming. Established as a charitable foundation in March 2017, Cradle Africa is a product and a vision of refugees’ struggles and hope to rebuild their war-ravaged communities. We are designated tax exempt under the Internal Revenue Service code.

MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to improve the well-being and quality of life for neediest children and families by providing lifesaving assistance, education, and advocacy.

VISION STATEMENT

Our vision is to re-affirm society’s responsibility to care for the less fortunate—to nurture and give children and families happier, healthier lives and a safer world. We envision a society and a future where no child ever again spends their entire precious childhood on the run, displaced to refugee camps, and separated from the tender, loving care of their parents as well as from the safety and stability of their families and communities.

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Our core values

We are grounded by our core values. They are the signposts that guide and give us directions in all that we do. Our daily charitable work is informed by how we truly live them out. Our donors and the people we serve are vital to the long-term success of our mission. Simply put, these five core values are mission critical.

INTEGRITY

We act with integrity. We’re honest, truthful and transparent in our work and committed to doing what’s right and best for the people we serve.

Good Stewardship

We strive for excellence and are accountable by holding ourselves to the highest standards of integrity and fiscal responsibility.

Empowerment

We believe in developing our people by empowering them to make decisions and take action. This can be done by providing an environment that fosters personal development, professional growth and family development.

Compassion

We treat the people we serve with compassion and kindness. As former refugees we bring to our work a deep sense of awareness and of sympathy for the pain and suffering of others. We listen actively to assess the situation and empathize with those in need. We then provide lifesaving assistance, opportunities and advocate for them.

Resilient Communities

We believe in the power of resilient people, their ability to bounce back from adversity, in collaborative spirit, because it’s only through working together that we can deliver more success and achieve greatness through shared goals, vision and mutual support. Together we can educate children, transform lives and postwar communities.

Guiding Philosophy:

How the Seeds of Hope were Planted

The organization’s collective vision --a wide perspective born out of many years of hardships, hope, and resilience--was conceived when we became concerned years ago about the protracted situations of the refugees, in particular, the plight of South Sudan’s vulnerable population in East Africa. While no strangers to human suffering amid refuge, our founders came to the United States in 2001 after having spent an average of 13 years in makeshift camps, as former child refugees, with no homes to return to. The devastation and hope for the Lost Boys and girls has over the years been eloquently captured by many humanitarian agencies since their arrival in America.

It is by demonstrating leadership and commitment that we will build and sustain this charitable organization with excellence, including maintaining a lasting relationship with our wonderful network of generous donors and strategic partners.

Our perspective and experience as former child refugees will always guide and inform our approach towards caring for children and families. It is a universal fact that children hold a special spot in the minds and hearts of humanity---our programs will act as vessels through which many compassionate communities and friends could help the neediest women and children who are looking for a fighting chance in South Sudan. Our organization will seek to make this global hand of charitable partnership an investment in the greatest cause of peace for South Sudanese women and children who have suffered the indignities of war for far too long. We pledge to make it our life’s mission to advocate for all children; because no child should go through all that we went through, ever again.

Leadership Team

Meet Our Founders

We are a volunteer-led organization and our founders combine leadership and refugee experience, with the passion for making a difference.

Joseph Deng Garang

President

Joseph holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Management and Business, and Global Strategic Studies from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Mawut Paul Awel

Vice President

Mawut holds a Masters of Business Administration in Finance from Bellevue University and a BA in International Studies, Political Science and Aerospace Studies from the University of Nebraska in Omaha.

Gabriel Garang Mapior

Secretary / Treasurer

Garang holds an MBA in Finance from Bellevue University in Nebraska and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.