ROOTS Launch
BOSTON, MA, March 8, 2026 — ROOTS Fellowship Foundation today announced four projects supporting Indigenous spiritual traditions in Colombia, Kenya and Gabon. Operating under the fiscal sponsorship of Modern Spirit, a registered 501(c)(3), ROOTS funds education initiatives and community-led healing programs designed to keep ancestral knowledge locally governed and culturally intact.
ROOTS, an acronym for Reviving Our Origins, Traditions & Spirit, was founded by Salome Augustine Bissa Kopasz, Krisztian Kopasz, and Marvin Vivas Rodriguez. The three co-founders bring together lived experience across Cameroon, Hungary, and Colombia, united by a shared conviction that the world's most critical healing knowledge is disappearing faster than most people realize.
“In Africa, when an elder passes away, a library burns,” says Salome Kopasz, co-founder and executive director. “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.”
Globally, 1,500 Indigenous languages — along with the medicinal and spiritual knowledge encoded within them — are at critical risk of vanishing. These cultures collectively protect 40% of the planet’s intact forests, yet their lineage holders face what international observers describe as a grave risk of physical and cultural extermination. ROOTS addresses this crisis directly by funding the people doing the work: elders, spiritual leaders, and their chosen successors.
Rather than importing external frameworks, ROOTS works from within communities. Each project supports an identified lineage holder and their apprentice, covering the basic living and education costs that allow full dedication to years-long spiritual training — a commitment that, by its nature, leaves no room for conventional income.
“These traditions are not museum pieces,” said co-founder Marvin Vivas Rodriguez. “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.”
CURRENT PROJECTS
The four community-led initiatives in Africa and South America include:
The Inga in Putumayo, Colombia
Monthly traditional wisdom workshops are held for 40–50 students in midwifery, traditional arts, and medicinal preparation, alongside communal Yagé ceremonies led by Taitas from the High and Low Putumayo.
This project supports Mamo Lorenzo Izquierdo, an internationally recognized Arhuaco spiritual leader, and enables his son to complete full training as a future Mamo. This is a lifetime vocation that requires total dedication without providing a conventional income.
Duruma Community of Kwale County, Kenya
This initiative protects the Duruma Kaya lineage and its sacred forest traditions by supporting mganga Baba Mwatela Masai and his successor daughter Sipi Mwatela through her multi-year apprenticeship in healing drums, herbal knowledge, and ceremony.
Y’azo Leyissa Academy in Bilandzambi, Gabon
This project supports an ancestral knowledge academy founded by Yorick Ossavou Mombo, who overcame addiction through traditional Gabonese medicine. It offers 11 preparatory modules in ritual practice, plant knowledge, and Iboga medicine to 25 students per academic year.
ROOTS Fellowship Foundation is now accepting donations through its fiscal sponsor, Modern Spirit. All contributions are tax-deductible for U.S. donors. To support a project or learn more, visit www.rootsfellowshipfoundation.org.
ABOUT ROOTS FELLOWSHIP FOUNDATION
ROOTS Fellowship Foundation is a nonprofit organization that preserves Indigenous spiritual lineages through community-led healing and education. Operating under the fiscal sponsorship of Modern Spirit (501(c)(3)), ROOTS funds projects that keep ancestral wisdom alive and locally governed for future generations. Learn more at www.rootsfellowshipfoundation.org.
ABOUT MODERN SPIRIT
Modern Spirit is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving as fiscal sponsor for ROOTS Fellowship Foundation. All donations are tax-deductible. A 5% administrative fee is retained for oversight and reporting. Learn more at modernspirit.org.
MEDIA CONTACT
ROOTS Fellowship Foundation
Jennifer.clemente@rootsfellowshipfoundation.org
www.rootsfellowshipfoundation.org