About Us
The My Arms Wide Open® Foundation, was established to provide support and collaboration with mothers, children, and youth in South Africa, enabling them to build sustainable communities and responsible businesses. With stronger families, communities emerge as a solid foundation for society. In the process they re-engage fathers to repair the family unit. In our definition, mothers include women who are caring for children and include child-led households, working within the pre-teen and teen groups. Fathers include the fathers, young males and adult males within the community.
Born in South Africa, Warren Te Brugge has spent most of his life traveling the world working over 30 years on 5 continents in 39 countries, gaining a deep understanding of cultures. He has learned that no matter how different every culture may be, it defines what is important by the same things: security; family; health and harmony among their peoples.
South Africa is a nation beautiful for its diversity in nature as well as the mosaic of its many cultures coming together to create the population. My Arms Wide Open® Foundation was established to create a new model of society, based on the power within the cultural diversity and the enduring belief in the persevering nature of South Africans who are truly one nation. A nation and community that celebrates its diversity.
The worldly experience that we bring to the table is that, after all is said and done, we DO all want the same things. Our goals of profit or success must be redefined to reflect our broad values. Whatʼs important is our family, our community, our people… our children. We offer our expertise and what we have learned for the whole community to benefit from and create an environment where entrepreneurs and business people are truly socially responsible and community-minded. Their communities are core benefactors of their efforts and the primary objective and focus. Profits are just one pillar in this philosophy.
A community that embraces people for their whole lives, not for only their productive years, can be rewarded with an infinite legacy. Our goal is to use the skills and resources that currently exist within communities and create a focus to enable people to care for and nurture themselves. A real focus into the communities. We will supplement skills, education and training to mentor, teach and educate the individuals within the community and to properly equip them to sustain themselves and their communities.
We want to create a lasting situation fostering pride and growth from within the community so that entrepreneurs and leadership remain in the community thus breaking the cycle of inter-generational poverty, abuse and suffering.
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