Midland counselor launches global nonprofit for mental health care

When Krista McCowen talks about healing, she rarely frames it as something that happens alone.

“Healing doesn’t happen in isolation,” she said. “We heal in community.”

That belief is at the heart of Ubuntu Wellness, a newly formed nonprofit founded by the Midland native and licensed professional counselor. Officially launched in June, Ubuntu Wellness is already preparing for its first service trip to Rwanda in January — an ambitious undertaking for an organization barely six months old.

But for McCowen, the work is many years in the making.

McCowen, who holds a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling and works as a counselor at Inspire Counseling and Wellness in Midland, has long been drawn to service and cross-cultural work. As a child, she began traveling internationally on mission trips, experiences she says shaped her understanding of community, culture, and shared humanity.

That curiosity eventually brought her to Rwanda for the first time in February of last year. Initially, the trip focused on education advocacy through a Rwandan nonprofit that supports school sponsorships for children. But as McCowen spent time in the country, her professional instincts began to surface.

“I started asking questions about mental health,” she said. “Depression, anxiety, trauma. And what I realized very quickly was that the infrastructure for mental health care is almost nonexistent.”

Rwanda, a country of more than 13 million people, has only a handful of psychologists and one child psychiatrist — who lives outside the country. While progress has been made in rebuilding the nation since the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, the psychological aftermath remains deeply embedded in families and communities.

“There’s generational trauma, community trauma, societal trauma,” McCowen said. “People are still carrying the weight of what happened, and many don’t have access to support to help them process it.”

Ubuntu Wellness takes its name from an African philosophy meaning “I am because we are.” The phrase reflects the nonprofit’s belief in collective healing — an approach that McCowen says is especially important in cultures where community identity is central.

“Humans thrive in community,” she said. “We don’t develop or heal in a vacuum.”

That philosophy guides the mission of Ubuntu Wellness: to provide culturally rooted, compassionate mental health care to underserved communities across Africa, beginning in Rwanda. The organization partners exclusively with Rwandan-led nonprofits, working alongside existing community leaders rather than imposing outside solutions.

“I’m not an expert in Rwandan culture,” McCowen said. “I can’t be. So everything we do is collaborative — curriculum, training, treatment plans. It has to make sense within their lived experience.”

Ubuntu Wellness focuses on youth empowerment workshops, healing circles, school-based initiatives, and one-on-one therapy, with an emphasis on accessibility and cultural humility.

Though the scope of its mission is global, Ubuntu Wellness remains a small organization. McCowen serves as its founder and president, supported by a three-person leadership team.

Her vice president, Joel Ndatimana, is Rwandan and lives in Rwanda. He provides cultural insight, translation support, and local relationship-building, and is pursuing training in mental health counseling himself. Katlyn Moonan, a licensed social worker and Midland-based therapist, serves as the organization’s secretary.

“That Rwandan leadership is critical,” McCowen said. “This work has to be locally informed and locally respected.”

The team’s first official service trip is scheduled for Jan. 15, when McCowen and Moonan will return to Rwanda to deliver mental health training and provide direct services through partner organizations. 

To support that work, Ubuntu Wellness is fundraising $6,000 through its website to cover expenses for its next service trip to Rwanda in May. The total includes travel costs, training booklets, and materials used in mental health education, as well as funding for a new youth mental health club initiative being developed with a Rwandan nonprofit partner.

The initiative, created in collaboration with Rwandan Non-Governmental Organizations and Business Process Outsourcing, will introduce mental health clubs in schools serving students of all ages. The clubs will follow a 10-week curriculum that McCowen is developing, focused on topics such as stress, anxiety, depression, boundaries, and emotional autonomy.

Ubuntu Wellness will train local volunteers, teachers, and counselors to implement the program, with the long-term goal of expanding it nationwide through government approval.

The work of Ubuntu Wellness extends beyond counseling sessions alone. One initiative included in the organization’s fundraising effort supports a Rwandan women-led nonprofit that provides education, medical care, job training, and financial skills to single mothers and grandmothers raising children.

As part of that partnership, Ubuntu Wellness is helping fund and distribute reusable menstrual health kits, paired with education on reproductive health, trauma, and abuse prevention. The initiative supports both women’s employment and girls’ access to education — two areas closely tied to mental wellness.

“Mental health doesn’t exist in isolation from daily life,” McCowen said. “If basic needs aren’t met, healing becomes even harder.”

While Ubuntu Wellness’ work reaches across continents, McCowen remains deeply connected to her hometown. Raised in Midland, she credits the area’s strong sense of generosity and community support for helping nonprofits thrive.

“Midland is an incredibly giving place,” she said. “I’ve seen how people show up for causes they believe in.”

Inspire Counseling and Wellness, where McCowen practices locally, has been an early supporter of the nonprofit, helping raise awareness and provide encouragement as the organization grows.

For McCowen, Ubuntu Wellness represents a continuation of her work as a counselor — just on a broader scale.

“It’s humbling,” she said. “To walk alongside people who’ve endured so much and still choose to care for their communities. If I have skills that can support that, then I feel a responsibility to use them.”

As Ubuntu Wellness prepares for its first major service trip, its founder is clear-eyed about the road ahead. The organization is small. The needs are vast. But the philosophy remains simple.

“I am because we are,” McCowen said. “And healing is something we do together.”

For more information about Ubuntu Wellness, how to get involved, or how to donate, visit ubuntu-wellness.org.

Max Milne covers community news as community editor at the Midland Daily news. Email him at max.milne@hearst.com.