HISTORY
Patricia Shafer    , who has traveled to African countries and served  on a leadership council of Save the Children, and Dr. Lyndall Hare, a native South African long involved in grass roots community work and serving on the board of the South Africa Development Fund (SADF) met for lunch in 2006, discussing how they each had been approached by people, particularly women, who wanted to make a difference to orphans and vulnerable children, but didn’t know where or how to direct their interest and contributions.

What began as a non-profit initiative raising awareness of orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa has evolved into a 501(c)3 and coalition of women catalysts with a global vision of conceiving, birthing, nurturing and replicating ideas to change lives. Projects are underway or being shaped in three African countries, in impoverished areas that don't receive significant government or large NGO support.

MAC believes aspirations to educate and nurture young people are omnipresent and that there's an untapped cadre of women social entrepreneurs compelled by the idea mothering  is the act of developing responsible citizen leaders around the world. The goal is to empower women to surface, shape, monitor and report on initiatives requiring small amounts of money to launch. We have projects underway and launching in South Africa, Rwanda and Southern Sudan, and a vision of becoming global. Projects unfold like this – we design and develop an innovative pilot on “seed funds;” we monitor, measure and help ensure replication; and then we transition a developed program that others can sustain.

Who's Involved
 Chief Catalyst Patricia Shafer,    chief catalyst and co-founder, serves as director, strategist and liaison between Mothering Across Continents contributors and selected projects. In this role, she draws on her experiences as president of Compel Ltd. and the Emerging World Forum, providing leadership consulting and coaching to for-profit and non-profit organizations. A former senior leader at two global multinational companies, she is contributing author to Enlightened Power: How Women are Transforming the Practice of Leadership (2005) and author of the upcoming Whole Work: Developing Tomorrow’s Truly Global Leaders (2010). She holds an MSc. in Consulting and Coaching for Change, Oxford University and HEC France; MBA, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University; and MA, Journalism, the Ohio State University. Please contact Patricia at: pshafer@motheringacrosscontinents.org 

Consultant Dr. Lyndall Hare, co-founder, works with Patricia to shape future Mothering Across Continents strategies and serve as a guest speaker. Born, raised and having served as a community organizer in South Africa, Lyndall has deep personal knowledge of conflict resolution and peace building initiatives that shaped the modern history of the country. Lyndall, a gerontologist, is owner/CEO of ElderCare Coaching & Consulting, Inc.  She authored In the Belly of the Beast: South African Women’s Lives of Activism, Exile, and Aging (2004).  She has a Ph.D., Gerontological Studies, Union Institute & University, and a degree in social work from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Please contact Lyndall at: info@motheringacrosscontinents.org

PARTNERS
 Collaborators include a host of people who team with us to leverage resources in ways that benefit the orphans and vulnerable children we are trying to serve. Knowledgeable and well-established non-profit organizations such as the South Africa Development Fund (SADF) and Save the Children USA, have been guiding lights who helped us identify the Caring Schools and Building Futures projects that launched our efforts in South Africa.

With LA-based film director Louise Hogarth (left), we are one of the exclusive sellers of Angels in the Dust DVDs and DO UBUNTU -- *DO UBUNTU, the Orphan Bracelet Campaign, OBC -- so that a portion of sales goes to Mothering Across Continents.

The owner of Photo Lyrical Photography – South Africa-born photographer Mimika Cooney – teamed up to create joint Mother's Day 2009 and 2010 Charity Calendar promotions, raising more than $5,500 for Mothering Across Continents.