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About Us

Who We Are

Shelter For Life International (SFL) is an international faith-based relief and development organization with 40 years of experience in providing sustainable development and humanitarian assistance to post-conflict countries around the world.

We believe that sustainable communities are built through the shared involvement of local people who are empowered to be an integral part of the rebuilding process. With this grassroots approach, SFL enables people devastated by conflict and disaster to become part of the solution.

We strive to be socially and environmentally sustainable by employing cultural sensitivity, community participation, appropriate alternative technologies, and cost-effective methodologies to our programs, which are underpinned by human-centered design. Our results go beyond new shelters, roads and water systems. SFL’s comprehensive approach rebuilds communities, offers hope, restores dignity, develops local capacity and creates environments in which communities can thrive.

Demonstrating God’s love by enabling people affected by conflict and disaster restore their lives and rebuild their communities.  

To be one of the leading international Christian humanitarian aid organizations providing disaster relief with long-term development and sustainability. 

Address disaster relief and long-term development needs of the communities we serve, by tailoring and implementing a range of contextually sensitive programs.

  • Shelter and infrastructure restoration and building

  • Livelihood and economic development

  • Education, training and awareness campaigns

  • Capacity building, self-sufficiency and sustainability

  • Food security, agriculture and natural resource management

  • Risk mitigation from geological and weather phenomena

  • Irrigation systems and access to water

  • Health, hygiene and sanitation

Shelter For Life At A Glance

As a faith-based relief and development organization, we are dedicated to:

Showing God’s love through humble, compassionate, sacrificial service

Serving the needs of vulnerable populations, such as refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs), women, children, elderly, the disabled, ethnic and religious minorities, and other marginalized groups.

Providing holistic, culturally-appropriate community-based programs that bridge emergency relief with long-term, sustainable development

Facilitating communication and working relationships between grassroots movements and government authorities

Educating communities to maximize local resources

Promoting self-reliance and settlement for communities in their current locations


Upholding professional excellence in program delivery through accountability and transparency

"When the road was completed, we came back and realized that the road had also brought peace with it." ~Bourama

Mustafa Omar, CEO

Mustafa Omar
Chief Executive Officer

Mustafa Omar has worked for Shelter For Life International in the field and Headquarters management positions; managing projects, leading new business development, and guiding operations around the world. Mr. Omar was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan and has worked in post-conflict reconstruction, Disaster Risk Reduction caused by human or natural phenomena, and market-revitalization efforts in Central Asia, East and West Africa, Europe, and Middle East for the past twenty (20) plus years. Mustafa holds graduate degrees in business administration and urban planning and is working on a PhD at the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. Topics of research and professional interest include Market Resilience and Social Risk-Management, Influence of Environmental Degradation on Fragile Markets, Impact of Improving Physical Space on Lasting Peace, and the Interaction between Modern Governance and Informal Market Structures.

Gordon Wright
Vice Chairman

Gordon A. Wright is Founder and President of over 40 years with JIMI International and is an Elder at Tulsa Christian Fellowship. Mr. Wright owned and operated a lawn and tree service business for nearly 15 years. Mr. Wright also served with the US Army for three years in the 1960s.Two of Mr. Wright’s years were spent in South Korea as a Brigade Intelligence Sergeant. Mr. Wright has provided mentoring and counseling to spiritual leaders around the world; with specific attention to individuals in Russia, Ukraine and former Soviet Bloc countries. Mr. Wright helped to found and direct East/West Resources International and Global Assistance Partners International. Mr. Wright has served as one of the original founding board of directors for Shelter For Life International. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, Gordon grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and currently resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma.