ROOTS Fellowship Foundation Funds Indigenous Spiritual Traditions in Colombia, Kenya, and Gabon

The ROOTS Fellowship Foundation has announced funding for four new projects to safeguard Indigenous spiritual traditions in Colombia, Kenya, and Gabon. Fiscally sponsored by Modern Spirit, a registered 501(c)(3) organization, ROOTS supports education initiatives and community-led healing programs designed to keep ancestral knowledge rooted in local governance and cultural integrity. The foundation's work addresses a critical global reality: approximately 1,500 Indigenous languages and their associated knowledge systems are at risk of disappearing. The communities that speak these languages collectively steward 40% of the world's remaining intact forests, yet their knowledge keepers face significant threats to their physical and cultural survival.

ROOTS, an acronym for Reviving Our Origins, Traditions & Spirit, was established by co-founders Salome Augustine Bissa Kopasz, Krisztian Kopasz, and Marvin Vivas Rodriguez. Based on personal experiences in Cameroon, Hungary, and Colombia, the founders believe vital healing traditions are rapidly vanishing. "In Africa, when an elder passes away, a library burns. My grandmother was the medicine woman and leader of her village. When she died, there was no one to carry her role forward. ROOTS exists to change that story — not just for her community, but for every lineage at risk," said Salome Kopasz, Co-Founder & Executive Director. The foundation addresses this crisis by empowering elders, spiritual leaders, and their chosen successors with resources, working from within each community rather than introducing outside frameworks.

Each supported project identifies a lineage holder and their apprentice, covering basic living and educational costs to allow full immersion in spiritual training—a years-long commitment that cannot be combined with conventional employment. "These traditions are not museum pieces. They are living systems of healing that entire communities depend on. We are here to ensure the next generation of lineage holders can actually do their work," explained Marvin Vivas Rodriguez, Co-Founder. The four active, community-led programs span Africa and South America, each focusing on specific spiritual lineages and practices.

In the Inga Community of Putumayo, Colombia, traditional wisdom workshops are held monthly for 40–50 students in midwifery, traditional arts, and medicinal preparation, alongside communal Yagé ceremonies. In the Arhuaco Community of Sasaima, Colombia, the initiative supports Mamo Lorenzo Izquierdo, an internationally recognized spiritual leader, and funds the complete training of his son as the community's future Mamo—a lifelong vocation. In the Duruma Community of Kwale County, Kenya, the project protects the Duruma Kaya lineage and its sacred forest traditions by supporting mganga Baba Mwatela Masai and his successor daughter, Sipi Mwatela, through her multi-year apprenticeship. In Bilandzambi, Gabon, the Y’azo Leyissa Academy, founded by Yorick Ossavou Mombo, offers 11 preparatory modules in ritual practice, plant knowledge, and Iboga medicine to 25 students per academic year.

The foundation's approach recognizes that these spiritual traditions are integral to community health and environmental conservation. By ensuring the continuity of these lineages, ROOTS helps preserve not only cultural heritage but also the ecological knowledge embedded within these practices. The loss of such knowledge represents a profound diminishment of human diversity and resilience. For more information, visit https://www.rootsfellowshipfoundation.org. All contributions are processed through its fiscal sponsor, Modern Spirit, and are tax-deductible for U.S. donors.