Our Mission:
howFar in the Congo is a nonprofit humanitarian aid organization compassionately dedicated to improving the lives of the citizens that have been displaced by the ongoing armed conflict and human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
About howFar
The How Far Foundation is an International Humanitarian Aid Agency. We partner with marginalized and in-crisis people groups across sub-Saharan Africa.
Our goal is to provide training and resources that empower individuals and communities to improve their quality of life.
Since 2004, we have brought clean water, schools, medical clinics and food security to communities in Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi. In 2009, howFar in the Congo began to commit our resources to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our initial focus was on the plight of the marginalized Batwa Pygmy people group. But our mission soon expanded.
North and South Kivu Provinces of eastern DR Congo have been embroiled in constant turmoil for decades. The 2002 eruption of Mount Nyiragango, 12 miles north of Goma, the center of power in eastern Congo, combined with atrocities committed by criminal militarized rebel groups, has created a human catastrophe. In 2011, National Geographic Magazine called Goma, a city of one million people, the most dangerous place in the world. Natural disaster, armed robbery, harassment, looting, kidnapping, extortion, sexual violence and murder are common in the region.
howFar in the Congo has responded to the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Board of Directors
Rob Boogaard is president & CEO of Interface EMEA and Senior Vice President of Interface, Inc. He leads the company’s growth strategy in Europe, the Middle East & Africa and oversees it supply chain, which includes two European manufacturing locations. He is a recognized sustainability ambassador and drives the interface mission, Mission zero, to no longer harm the environment by 2020. The company has already reduced its carbon footprint with more that 90% since 1996, uses more than 50% recycled and bio-material, has closed its water loop and runs its European manufacturing plants on 100% renewable energy.
Rob is a member of the Prince of Wales’ EU Corporate Leaders Group and regularly addresses European and national governments with the Interface message that radical sustainability is not only possible; it pays.
Prior to joining Interface, he was the Director of Global Strategy, marketing and Commercial Services for a leading manufacturer of advanced membrane technology used in high-end municipal and industrial water filtration applications around the world.
Rob lived and worked abroad for 18 years, both in the U.S. and in France. A Dutch native, Rob lives in the Netherlands with his wife and three children.
Jim Kelly is the Executive Vice President of Bil-Jac Foods, Inc. in Medina, Ohio. Bil-Jac is one of the largest privately held pet food manufacturers in the world.
Jim is President of The How Far Foundation, which provides humanitarian aid to Africa.
Jim is a 1980 graduate of Wittenberg University and has served on Wittenberg’s Visioning Committee. He served as a Trustee on the Highland High School Foundation Board from 2006-2012 and is currently serving on the Foundation’s Fund Development Committee. He has also served on Boards and Committees with Head Start and The Boy Scouts of America.
Jim and his wife Gail reside in Medina, Ohio. They have 4 children - Jennifer, Elizabeth, Kati & Ben.
Mark Maynard is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of The How Far Foundation.
He has held various sales and leadership positions in the business world including National Sales Training Manager for Konica Minolta USA. His team was responsible for the training and development of 4,000 US based sales associates. Mark is the recipient of four Presidents Club Awards for his contribution to the achievement of corporate goals.
Mark has served on various non-profit boards, and has also been Chairman of the Missions Committee at Countryside Bible Church in Southlake, Texas, volunteer Missions Pastor at The Family Church, Sugar Hill, Georgia and Missions Pastor at Cross Pointe Church in Duluth, Georgia.
Mark and his wife, Renée, reside in Buford, Georgia. They have 6 children and 10 grandchildren.
Renée Maynard is Co-Founder of The How Far Foundation.
She has led numerous volunteer organizations over the past three decades. She is a 1991 team recipient of President George H. W. Bush’s Thousand Points of Light Award for her work with Grieving Children. Here outstanding work as President of the Pilot Point PTA and Education Foundation earned her the 1998 Hero’s For Children Award from Governor George W. Bush and the Texas Education Agency.
Renee leads howFar’s women’s training and transformational initiatives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her programs teach life and trade skills to war widows and abused women, enabling them to care for themselves and their children.
She works as Administrative Assistant to the Director of Communications at Cross Pointe Church in Duluth, Georgia.
Renée and her husband, Mark, reside in Buford, Georgia. They have 6 children and 10 grandchildren.
Bill McIver
Diane Moffi
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