About Us

Mission Statement

The founding principles of the Divine Mercy and Free to Be Foundation consider education to be fundamental, not only as a means for eradicating poverty, but also as a decisive means for building a brighter future for children that are impoverished and for the society at large.

The foundation was established in 2017 as a small IRS tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit public foundation with a focus to fund the educational needs and facilitate educational opportunities of impoverished children in Ghana, West Africa.

Divine Mercy and Free to Be is the brainchild of the founder Mary O. Addo who in her youth and as a native of Ghana witnessed first hand the abject poverty and sheer hopelessness that afflict the children.

In a recent visit to Ghana, Mary observed that majority of the children were either not going to school or had dropped out primarily because of a lack of funds. The negative impact of a lack of funds for education was clear and has resulted in teen pregnancies, generational poverty, suicide, and other forms of hardship for the children involved. From these observations arose a strong desire and passion in Mary to reverse these negative trends.

The Board Members and volunteers of the Divine Mercy and Free to Be Organization are purpose driven individuals who share the vision and passion of the founder, to bring positive change to impoverished societies.

The Foundation raises funds to build low cost preschools and support targeted schools in the impoverish areas. These funds help to recruit qualified teachers, provide school supplies, scholarships and grants to students who qualify to attend schools of higher learning. The funds raised also enable The Foundation to facilitate job placement opportunities for graduates with area employers.

As a small, non-profit public foundation, we are totally dependent on individual and corporate donations to fund our programs. Therefore, our Board of Directors and volunteers cover all operational overhead costs (advertising, banking fees, mailing, website, paper consumables, etc.), so that 100% of all received donations are applied directly to our Programs.