JohannesburgFeeding the Children
Every week a hot, nutritious meal of stew, chicken or mince and pap is cooked, transported and served to school-age kids (6–12) in the Msawawa settlement, often with bread and fruit to take home.
Read more →Community Spotlight
Love Without Borders
Mission Love for Africa is a volunteer-run initiative bringing hot meals, learning, music and hope to children and families in South Africa and Zambia. Right here in Joburg, and far beyond it.
Missão Amor Pela África · mloveforafrica.org
100–150
Children fed a hot meal every week in Msawawa, Johannesburg
Since 2008
Weekly meals prepared and served by volunteers
270
Learners at the first rural film screening in Zambia
R30
Puts together one hygiene kit for a child or elder
Who They Are
Volunteers With a Big Heart
Missão Amor Pela África (Mission Love for Africa) is a volunteer effort led by a small team from Brazil and Canada. For more than a decade they've pioneered and sustained social projects for children and teenagers from under-resourced communities in South Africa and Zambia, with plans to reach other countries on the continent.
“To bring encouragement, hope and love to anyone in need, regardless of social status, race or creed.”
Mission
Show up with practical help and real care for the children and families who need it most.
Vision
Help people discover their potential and live with purpose and dignity through education, personal growth and opportunity.
What They Do
Six Ways They Light Up Lives
From a weekly plate of food to a first look at a violin, every project is built around one idea: children deserve to feel seen, fed and full of possibility.
Johannesburg
ZambiaRural Education
Since 2018 the team has travelled to villages without electricity to screen educational films on a big screen in local languages like Tonga, followed by Q&A sessions with teachers translating.
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SchoolsCoaching & Mentoring
Volunteer-led sessions in public schools help teens and adults explore purpose, values and faith, with music and a violin along the way to spark joy and dreams.
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LearningLiterature & Values
Books, puppets and audio-visual material for schools and educators that teach moral values, plus music sessions where many kids hear a violin for the very first time.
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LivingstoneSchool Supplies
With partners around the world, they made one principal's dream come true: every learner at his public school in Livingstone received the stationery they needed for the whole year.
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HealthHygiene Kits
Alongside food parcels, the mission hands out hygiene kits to children and elderly community members. Each kit costs about R30 to put together.
Read more →Close to Home
The Best Meal of the Week
Msawawa is an informal settlement on government land in an industrial area of Greater Johannesburg. After a long walk home from school, the children line up, plates in hand, for what for many is the best meal of their week.
- Hot stew with chicken or mince and pap
- Bread, and sometimes fruit, to take home
- Volunteers who show up, even in the winter cold
- Community members like Tia Sara keeping the queue running
The People Behind It
Meet the Crew
Artists, educators and organisers who traded comfort for purpose, and bring their talents to every project.
Marta da Silva
Volunteer
30+ years of volunteering in Brazil. Supports the South African work and launched new projects in Zambia.
Marcos Vinicius
Volunteer
Leads the Johannesburg projects, including the weekly Msawawa meals for around 120 children.
Ivan Farquharson
Volunteer
Canadian organiser behind planning and logistics, and the local-language film project in SA and Zambia.
Ana Eliza
Volunteer
Performing artist who mentors teens at public schools in Diepsloot.
Estevão Gabriel
Volunteer
Children's entertainer since 2005, using theatre and music to reach young people.
Rosaléia Izaguirre
Photographer
Captures and shares the mission's story, and teaches classes at under-resourced schools.
What's Next
Together We Can Do More
The next chapter depends entirely on donors and supporters. These are the projects the team has flagged as most urgent:
- School supplies for public-school learners
- Wells for villages far from a river
- Shoes and clothing for kids and elders
- Repairs to mud-brick homes
- Renovating public schools
- Food for families in rural villages
Longer term, the team also hopes to install solar panels at rural schools and take the film project into Botswana.
Be Part of the Magic
Spread a Little Fire Where It Counts
We believe the best moments are the ones that make a child's face light up. Mission Love for Africa creates those moments every week. Give, share, or simply follow along.
Mission Love for Africa's website is in Portuguese. Donations are made via PayPal or card on their site. Photos courtesy of Missão Amor Pela África.