Life story of the founder

Mussa Ali was born in Uganda. His father was a Kenyan who worked in Uganda where he had his family. Mussa^'s journey began in childhood, marked by the horrors of the Ugandan civil war. Born into a middle-income Muslim family, he witnessed the trauma of war firsthand. His family^'s life was forever changed when his brother was abducted to join the army. As violence intensified, with people being killed and property destroyed, Mussa^'s father urged the family to relocate for safety. They eventually moved to their Homeland Kenya, where they had to start life from scratch. Mussa Ali was left alone, scared, and searching for solace.

The pain of losing his brother and watching his parents^' defeat and financial struggles led him down a dark path. In his search for relief, he was introduced to drugs and substance abuse. At first, the substances seemed to numb his emotional pain and offered him temporary comfort, but that comfort was short-lived. He battled stigma, isolation, surrounded by a society that often judged rather than understood. However, the community offered a sense of belonging and ubuntu spirit

Mussa Ali knew he needed help and, with determination and support of Blue Cross, a missionary group in the year 2011, he underwent three months medical rehabilitation at Mtito Andei Makueni county. The journey was painful, but it taught him discipline, awareness, and the value of community. He began volunteering and working with organizations like Dream Achievers, Kwacha Afrika, NACADA, Kenya Red Cross Mombasa and ActionAid Kenya. In 2014 he was made Ostfrika-Projekt coast regional coordinator.

These experiences shaped his vision for Mkono kwa Mkono CBO, a community-based organization by 11^th April 2024 dedicated to helping individuals recover from addiction and reintegrate into society. Today, Mussa Ali is driven to make a difference, seeking support to continue this vital work, providing awareness, referral services, and livelihood support opportunities for those struggling with addiction and after care.

ABOUT US

Our Vision, Mission and values
Our Vision
We visualize a healthy community free from drug and substance abuse addiction.
Our Mission
To mitigate and reduce drug and substance abuse in the Kenyan Coast Region, especially Kilifi through prevention campaigns, treatment of individuals struggling with addiction and social reintegration of recovered addicts.
Our values
Mkono kwa Mkono is guided by the following set of principles and values.

Accountability: We strive to be accountable to the individuals and communities we humbly serve, transparently sharing our results, stories and lessons.

Excellence: We strive to provide high-quality services, content and strategies, using our insights on experience, knowledge and data to create impact.

Transformation: We believe in urgent action, innovation, and the necessity of transformation within the targeted communities and our own organization.

Collaboration: We believe in working with others and achieving together what may not be possible alone while learning from others, and sharing what others can learn from us.
Inclusiveness: We embrace differences, diversity, inclusion, and equity in our engagements with our players and beneficiaries to address the society^'s most complex problems.

Our goals and objectives

Our goal
To mitigate and reduce drug and substance abuse in the Kenyan Coast Region, especially Kilifi.
Our specific Objectives

To prevent the onset of drug and substance use amongst young people and limit the development of problems associated with using psychoactive substances.
To refer drug addiction patients for treatment to rehabilitation centres.
To provide drug addiction patients with continued care for the long term well after rehabilitation has been completed and help them transist back into society.
To provide support to addicts, families and loved ones of those who suffer from addiction.