The ROOTS Fellowship Foundation has announced funding for four new projects designed 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 intended to keep ancestral knowledge rooted in local governance and cultural integrity.
The foundation's work addresses an urgent 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 what international observers have described as a grave risk of physical and cultural extermination. 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.
"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 empowers 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," said Marvin Vivas Rodriguez, Co-Founder. The four newly funded community-led programs span Africa and South America. 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 through her multi-year apprenticeship. In Gabon, the Y’azo Leyissa Academy in Bilandzambi, founded by Yorick Ossavou Mombo, offers 11 preparatory modules in ritual practice, plant knowledge, and Iboga medicine to 25 students per academic year.
The preservation of these Indigenous spiritual traditions has significant implications for global cultural diversity, environmental stewardship, and community health. By ensuring the transmission of ancestral knowledge, these projects help maintain biocultural diversity and support sustainable relationships with natural ecosystems. The foundation is currently accepting donations through its fiscal sponsor, Modern Spirit, with more information available at https://www.rootsfellowshipfoundation.org. All contributions are tax-deductible for U.S. donors, with Modern Spirit retaining a 5% administrative fee for oversight and reporting, as detailed at https://modernspirit.org.
