SACO — If there’s one piece of advice Lindiwe Krasin has to give, it’s to never stop moving ”“ not literally but figuratively.

Although Krasin did spend a large chunk of her life physically moving ”“ from Africa to New England, back to Africa and to New England once more ”“ it’s her mind that never stops churning now.

“Sometimes the worst thing you can do is stop,” she said Wednesday. “That’s dangerous.”

Krasin, who will turn 39 in May, is studying to earn her master’s degree from Goddard College. She has just launched a non-profit human rights organization. Her first book of poetry will be published this spring, and she even has plans to start a clothing line.

Krasin was born in Gabarone, Botswana in 1976, to a white American anthropologist, her father, and a black South African school teacher, her mother.

As part of a mixed-race family on a continent being torn apart by racial tension and injustice during the late 20th century, Krasin and her family moved around frequently ”“ from Botswana to Sudan, back to southern Africa, then to Kenya for six months and eventually to Peaks Island when she was about 8 years old. She moved back to Africa when she was about 11 years old and came stateside again, to western Massachusetts, to finish high school.

She earned a bachelor’s degree, got married and had a child. But her marriage didn’t last. She left her husband, sparking yet another spell of migrations. She spent several years homeless in Massachusetts, Vermont and later Portland. But for Krasin, homelessness was far from hopelessness.

“I lived on the streets of Portland,” she said. “I lived outside in Portland, and it was fun. … I learned a lot. I met a lot of amazing people.”

Even now, sitting cross-legged on the warm carpet of her apartment, off of Route 1 in Saco, Krasin often longs to be outdoors, huddled up in a tent in the woods, even during the winter months.

“Sometimes when it snows I wish I was out there in a tent,” she said with a smile.

But ”“ for now, at least ­”“ she’s staying put in Saco with her two children: a 5-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter. (Her first-born son, who’s 18 years old, lives with his father in Massachusetts.)

After all, Krasin has a lot on the horizon. First and foremost is her newly-birthed human rights organization called Mama Africa, which she said “really got off the ground” this year.

In years past, she said she lacked the “maturity” to start an organization like this. She also wondered if she’d even be staying in Maine for the long haul, thinking maybe a return to Africa would be the best thing to do. But late last year, she battled through her doubts and decided if she didn’t do it now, she never would.

“Post-Ferguson and post-Trayvon Martin I realized that this is where I live, and I just need to start whatever I need to start now,” she said. “Seeing all the other women across the country doing stuff put me in a position where I didn’t really see myself as having an excuse to not do anything. … I feel like it is what I have to do.”

So what exactly is Mama Africa? The better question might be: What is it not?

In short, it’s about creating a support system for marginalized black women and children, said Krasin. It’s also about not forgetting her own past.

“As (my family and I) leave our marginality, I don’t want to leave what I’ve walked through and just say, ”˜Oh, it’s done. Goodbye. It didn’t happen.’ … I don’t want to do that because there are always going to be women who are coming up behind me who are going through even worse,” she said. “And I want to make sure if I’m in the community where they live, they can access what we’re doing as a network and a platform and a safety net to help so that they can get their lives together.”

Although the organization’s focus is on black women and children, that’s not to say it would turn anyone away. Krasin said she wants Mama Africa to help everyone who needs help and who is marginalized by society ”“ white women with black children, sex workers, women of other racial minorities and the LGBT community, to name a few.

“It doesn’t really matter who the person is,” she said.

According to Krasin, this is the right time and the right place for an organization like this for two key reasons: racism and sexism are beginning to be discussed more openly in our society, and the two cities of Saco and Biddeford are seeing an uptick in their black populations ”“ even if it’s not yet in plain sight.

“You look at the black community here, and it’s getting bigger and bigger,” she said. “We are getting a flight from Portland this way.”

Mama Africa’s next event will be in March, said Krasin, and future collaborations with the Portland Racial Justice Congress are already in the works.

As if that weren’t enough to manage, from the spring until the fall, Krasin plans to finish her master’s thesis, which she said is currently a “hot mess,” and from there, as she continues to juggle the duties of Mama Africa, it’s on to growing her other endeavor: Sex and Safari, an organization she started at the beginning of last year.

“Sex and Safari is about being beautiful and being sexy in every way,” said Krasin.

She plans to eventually hold workshops through the organization, which will cater to both men and women and help them realize who they are as a “sexual being,” so they can incorporate that into their daily lives ”“ how they dress, how they decorate, how they live in general. She said she also plans to start a clothing line to go along with it.

And then there’s what you might call Krasin’s true passion: her poetry.

“My poetry is my life,” she said.

Krasin’s book “The Lioness of Love” ”“ a collection of Pan-Africanist and Black Nationalist love poetry ”“ will be published in the coming months.

“It’s very beautiful. It’s very human,” she said about the book. “I don’t think a person has to be black to understand it. … It’s about love. It’s about desire. It’s about Africa.”

To say Krasin has a lot on her plate might be an understatement; some might even say her plate’s too full.

But that’s the way she likes it, she said, always keeping busy. And with each step forward, there is a theme to it all: Letting peace and love flourish.

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or averzoni@journaltribune.com.