Bana Mayele was founded in July 2020.

Bana Mayele is an educational / orphanage center located in the district of Kimbondo on Mont-Ngafula in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC):
The vision and the goal of Bana Mayele is to create a safe and secure environment for the underprivileged and abandoned children to grow and become the bright future of Congo. Bana Mayele‘s purpose is to educate the children and to provide them with better chances in this ever-changing world.
Bana Mayele intends to provide comfortable home atmosphere for 300+ children who shall live with dignity and pride.
The building complex includes dormitories, classrooms, kitchen, dining room, garden and vegetable garden as well as a banquet hall to rent for celebrations.
Madlen Petersen, the founder of Bana Mayele, is undoubtedly one of the most devoted people working with orphans in Congo for 20 years.
Madlen has seen a whole generation of children grow up, from infancy through their whole life.
Madlen has dedicated her entire existence to the children of Kimbondo. She has adopted 2 children as her own. The children’s future and fate weighs heavily on her heart, and she steps out by faith to build a better future for them. The Bana Mayele journey has begun by laying the foundation and beginning the construction of the school of her dreams where the children would receive excellent education.
They learn from the very basic knowledge of reading, writing, and arithmetics to useful life skills and vocational education. The children also focus on learning trades and expertise according to their talents, interest, and ability such as sewing, growing food and livestock, woodworking, and catering – all to have a working opportunity for supporting themselves in their community, in the DRC, and today’s society at large.