Mary Mwambay

Mary Mwambay comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a daughter of a Methodist minister, Mary first came to America as a baby with her parents who came as missionaries. After seven years, they returned to Congo where she grew up and completed her education with a degree in accounting and business administration.

Mary’s ability to speak English, French and Swahili on top of four African languages landed her a job with the airlines: she worked as an administrative assistant and ground hostess at Zambia Airways in Lubumbashi, Congo, and at Air Zaire in Johannesburg, South Africa. Later, Mary accepted the position of sales manager for Shabair, a private airline.

Mary has always lived in Atlanta since moving to the United States in 1994 with her husband and four daughters. She has been actively involved in community activities, first as an event coordinator for Nouvelle Jerusalem Church of God, one of the local African French speaking churches, then as a member of the organizing committee for the Congolese Community of Atlanta (COCOMATL). This association was recently founded with the purpose of addressing the needs of the Congolese living in Atlanta. Mary also participates in the children’s council meetings at Winter Chapel United Methodist Church, her home church.

Mary comes to FFI after 5 years with Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest healthcare organizations, where she worked in the claims department as a support service technician. Mary sees Friendship Force as the ultimate opportunity to put her cross-cultural, international and interpersonal skills to good use.