Company Profile
MADRE, Inc
Company Overview
MADRE is an international women's human rights organization. We partner with community-based women's groups worldwide facing war and disaster – our sister organizations.
Our mission is to advance women’s human rights by meeting urgent needs in communities and building lasting solutions to the crises women face.
Our history is rooted in progressive movements for peace, justice and women’s human rights.
MADRE works for a world where all people enjoy the fullest range of individual and collective human rights. A world where resources are shared equitably and sustainably. A world where women participate effectively in all aspects of society. And a world where people have a meaningful say in policies that affect their lives.
We bring our vision to life with an understanding of the inter-relationships between the issues we address. And we are committed to working in partnership with women at the local, regional and international levels who share our goals.
Company History
MADRE was born out of a belief that together we can make a difference. In 1983, a group of women activists, poets, teachers, artists and health professionals traveled to Nicaragua to witness the impact of the US-sponsored Contra War. What they saw horrified and angered them. They met with women who showed them day care centers, schools and clinics that had been bombed by contras supported by the US government.
These women returned to the US with a mandate from the women of Nicaragua: to bring the stories of Nicaraguan women and children to the attention of the US public and mobilize people to demand a change in US government policy.
MADRE's Founding Director, Kathy Engel, and the women she brought together had a vision of a unique women-led, women-run international human rights organization, dedicated to informing people in the US about the effects of US policies on communities around the world. MADRE resolved to build real alternatives to war and violence by supporting the priorities of our sister organizations and linking them to the needs of women and families in the US through a people-to-people exchange of direct relief and understanding.
Vivian Stromberg was there from the very beginning - a seasoned teacher, activist, and political organizer. She propelled Kathy's crucial work forward, serving as MADRE's Executive Director for over 20 years beginning in 1990. Under Vivian's leadership, MADRE accomplished landmark human rights achievements while empowering and connecting grassroots women's organizations worldwide.