Why is sustainability more important than immediate, apparently more dramatic, results?

TrueToAfrica focuses on helping children, schools and communities to become independent of our help – they need, and in fact desperately want, to become self-sustaining!

TrueToAfrica provides resources in a way that helps those we serve become independent of us as soon as reasonably possible. That means that our efforts focus on sustainable growth over time, not singularly dramatic events. If we help a child in such a way that their lifestyle immediately improves well beyond the conditions of their local village, that child would not be capable of sustaining that rapidly accelerated standard of living without our perpetual support.

As each child learns and grows, we provide self-sustainable and incremental opportunities to improve their life conditions. In this way, when children graduate from school (at whatever grade-level they are capable of achieving with our support and encouragement), they will be fully capable of self-sustaining their future lives at that level.

The level of self-sustainable living achieved by each of the children will be well beyond that which their parents attained and well beyond what they would have achieved without the help of TrueToAfrica sponsors and donors.

​Is optimism realistic when children, families, and schools in Uganda face such challenging circumstances?

At TrueToAfrica, our sense of optimism comes from an unusual source – the children and families of Uganda! 

While the media efforts of many humanitarian organizations focus with great dramatics on the despair and desperation of vulnerable children, we have seen, time after time, that even the neediest children in Uganda are themselves driven by a sense of optimism and hope.  

While it is true that, from time to time, all of these children are sad and feel desperate, don’t we all have intimate, private moments of despair in our lives?  It is truly amazing and inspiring to see how much more these children’s lives are shaped by an optimistic focus on their future.

At TrueToAfrica, we feel compelled to follow the lead of these children and embrace an optimistic view of the possibilities ahead in their futures. We infuse everything we do with an optimistic belief that, through education, these children can and will accomplish great things.

You can support these amazing children who are just waiting for an opportunity to learn, grow, and become future leaders and teachers! Share in their positive hope for the future by giving the life-changing gift of education to a dedicated, yet vulnerable, child. You can do this by becoming a sponsor or providing Ugandan-made basic necessities such as mosquito nets, food and textbooks to a child.

Can a non-profit really be built on volunteers, instead of a paid staff, and still be effective?

TrueToAfrica is built on the tremendous efforts of its volunteers!

One of the signature aspects of TrueToAfrica is that it was founded, built and grown based 100% on volunteer time, talents and energy. So many people have contributed to who we are today. Volunteers spread the word through their personal and social networks. Volunteers design and run TrueToAfrica fundraisers with their families, neighbors, churches and businesses. Volunteers help to reach out to sponsors and share the children’s letters and photos. Volunteers help keep the face of TrueToAfrica alive and active on social media. Volunteers understand the children’s humanitarian care item needs and recruit others to help to meet these critical needs. Volunteers involve their families and children in helping others in need.

Why are volunteers so willing to make these tremendous efforts? We see the difference we are making together in the actual lives of these orphans and vulnerable children. We see their smiles, see the light in their eyes, feel their hugs, recognize their dreams and watch them grow and progress from grade to grade. We see them graduate with life-long math and English skills and with critically needed job skills. We see that these children, when grown, are bringing the value of education back to their families, villages and communities. We think generationally!! Our volunteers are so grateful for their own education and the many resources in their lives that they want to share what they have with these wonderful children!