About Us | History | Director Bios

Kathleen Helfrey, Founder & Director

As the founder and Director, Kathleen Helfrey is the heart and soul of the Maalgo Project. Over the past two years she has worked tirelessly to create awareness for the foundation and to inspire others to get involved through volunteer programs and community outreach events.
In her previous life, Kathleen graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of California at Santa Barbara. After graduation, she chose to combine her passions for traveling and exploring other cultures by going to Ghana to volunteer and become immersed in the West African culture.
It was during this time in Vea, Ghana, that Kathleen fell in love with the people and specifically, the children of West Africa. Kathleen immediately recognized the lack of basic educational resources in the village, but was deeply moved by the community’s commitment to the pursuit of learning, a commitment that was reinforced by the successful completion of the village’s first local library last year. Inspired by the community’s devotion to one another and to the future well-being of their children, Kathleen left Ghana compelled to help the people of Vea achieve their goals.
After a brief 18-month stint as a staffing programs coordinator for Google Inc. in Mountain View, CA, she decided to leave the rat race and move to Venice, CA, to establish the Maalgo Project and to completely dedicate herself to bridging the gap between the developing and the developed worlds. Armed with a massive heart and a desire to put the well-being of others before her own, Kathleen has taken on the monumental task of creating a better life for the people of Ghana by providing several villages with the resources necessary to have self-sustaining, fully functional learning centers throughout West Africa.