Makra Opoku
Founder/CEO
Makra Opoku is a public health professional and community service advocate with more than 20 years of experience helping promote community-based public health initiatives in the New York area and around the world. She served as a first responder during the September 11th, 2001 World Trade Center attack in addition to working the Coronavirus pandemic (2020), Measles outbreak in New York (2019), Zika virus (2016), and Ebola taskforce in Sierra Leone (2015). She was also a keynote speaker at the 2019 Peace Conference in Brufut, Gambia with a focus on non-violence and peace among the youths of the country.
With a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Education & Promotion from Lehman College in New York, Makra currently works as a senior epidemiologist, public health advisor, health educator and surveillance field investigator with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in addition to being the founder/executive director of her nonprofit, MakMa Foundation International, Inc, a lifelong passion.
Makra’s extensive travel around the world for work as an epidemiologist and public health educator gave her a firsthand experience of the harsh living conditions of the poor, underprivileged and marginalized communities in the United States and third world countries, something that really touched her heart. She encountered orphans, people with disability, widows, poor and others struggling to get by on a day-to-day basis with limited to no access to the necessities of food, shelter, clothing, and healthcare and listened to their life’s stories of despair.
Touched by the stories of the people she encountered, Makra decided to take action to help by establishing MakMa Foundation International, Inc with the goal of helping improve the quality of life of these population groups. She is very passionate about this and has made it her life’s mission. The Foundation has already positively impacted lives in New York, Minnesota, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone with the hope of eventually expanding into more communities.
Makra is a philanthropist, leader, motivational speaker, healthcare educator and advocate, and community organizer who believes in equity and inclusion for all regardless of socioeconomic status, something she has worked very hard to promote over the years.
Investing your time, talent, and money in MakMa Foundation will not only pay off in the long run towards building a better society where everyone has access to basic resources for everyday living but bring you a level of satisfaction never experience. This is our promise to donors.
