Many people take public education for granted, assuming children all over the world have equal access to schools. “In the United States, about 90% of children attend government-funded schools,” says Steven Hite, President of TrueToAfrica. “Yet, in developing countries, like Uganda, Sudan or Ethiopia where I've worked, this figure basically inverts. Very few students attend schools funded by government sources, and those students tend to be children of government employees or ranking military officers.”
For most children in Uganda, especially in rural villages, they can only attend schools if their families pay school fees, which many families cannot afford. “The basic need we're talking about is education access, a key indicator of education quality,” shares Julie, VP of Finance and Operations. “Our slogan is empowerment through education,” adds Steven. “Education is a resource and, especially in developing countries, education is one of the most valuable life-long resources. Education is a gatekeeper, and if you have it, then you have access to jobs, income, and opportunities.” Julie continues, “I’ve seen how access to education has literally changed the children and given them opportunities they never could have believed possible. When they graduate, they are prepared and empowered to make a difference in their lives and in the lives of their parents, siblings, and future families in a way that no one else in their family can.”
TrueToAfrica, founded in 2006 by Steven and Julie Hite, works alongside rural communities to provide access to schools, equip teachers and administrators, provide essential humanitarian and educational supplies, and build schools to enable student learning. TrueToAfrica operates under four guiding values: cooperation, sustainability, optimism, and volunteerism. By cooperating with local partners and local merchants, TrueToAfrica boosts the local economy while assisting students. “We don’t take anything over. We purchase textbooks, mosquito nets, mattresses, clothes, goats, etc., in Uganda to support the local economy,” explains Steven. “Cooperating also creates a multiplier effect so that every donation goes even further. We're not only supporting the students through their fees, uniforms, textbooks, bedding, and food but this money also pays the local merchants and providers, many of whom are women with children.”
Cooperation transitions seamlessly to sustainability, where communities are equipped to operate their own schools without future dependence on the organization. “We bring capital resources and provide counsel, when asked, but this is really about what Ugandans inform us Ugandans need,” says Steven. “Decisions are made or informed by Ugandans because they know the local context, culture and priorities, and they know how to interact with the village elders, headteachers and communities.”
Over 10 years, TrueToAfrica helped build two elementary schools in rural villages where villagers were already trying to create a school and simply needed a little help. Each school now encompasses eight classrooms, latrines, boys' and girls' dormitories, a kitchen to supply food for the school children, and living quarters for teachers, allowing them to live onsite as part of their compensation package.
Inspired by the people with whom TrueToAfrica works and serves, their third value is optimism. “It can be hard for us to believe that individuals who live in a country like Uganda, with extremely low resources, are actually incredibly happy, optimistic, and forward-looking individuals,” says Steven. “Yet, they are! Given their optimism, we believe it is important for us to be optimistic as well.”
The fourth value, volunteerism, reflects the commitment of the people working with TrueToAfrica to give their time and talents to advance the mission. “No one is paid a salary,” explains Steven. “All work is done voluntarily by us and those who come alongside us and volunteer their time.”
TrueToAfrica is a family-run non-profit. Creating opportunities for shared family values and service experiences were two of their early family goals. Many of the Hites’ children have actively participated with TrueToAfrica, traveled to Uganda and serve as administrators for TrueToAfrica’s programs. Serving together as a family has allowed them to share meaningful experiences, strengthen relationships, build shared values, and also given them a powerful way to instill these principles in their own children.
Rachel (Hite) Eng, of Eng Orthodontics in Arvada, serves both as photographer and VP of Marketing. Her early engagement has been critical to TrueToAfrica’s growth. Rachel shares, “Since my first trip to Africa when I was 17, I’ve spent significant time documenting the children and mothers in their home and school settings. I have realized that as mothers, we all understand the vital, transformative power of education for our children's lives. Though we come from such vastly different backgrounds and cultures, we all have highly valued hopes and dreams for our children’s education.” Melissa (Hite) Seager, VP of Humanitarian Care, leads humanitarian projects, website development, and management of the website’s online store enabling donors to directly support humanitarian care needs. Melissa reminds us that “when donors provide beddings for good sleep, food, and clothing, they are ensuring access to the humanitarian essentials that play a critical role in supporting a child’s ability to learn.” Shelley (Hite) Higgins serves as Director of Student Learning, with a focus on improving learning in rural village classrooms. She explains, "We don't need to bring educational resources to Uganda—they already have them. Ugandan educators write textbooks and reading materials, and Ugandan publishers produce high-quality, culturally relevant resources. The books, textbooks, and school supplies are available. Many schools simply need financial support to access them.”
By providing access to education--otherwise not available--for vulnerable rural students and sustaining resources for the students, their families, schools and communities, TrueToAfrica is positively impacting and empowering lives of children through education in ways that will be felt for generations to come.
Sidebar:
Since its founding in 2006, TrueToAfrica has provided 3,038 education years to students and distributed over 75,000 humanitarian care items, such as mattresses, mosquito nets, blankets, food, clothing and goats, including over 471 tons of food to needy students and their families. They also connect sponsors with specific students, enabling them to share letters and photos.
These accomplishments are only made possible through the generosity of their donors, sponsors, and volunteers and TrueToAfrica’s engagement with their local Ugandan strategic partner -- Child2Youth Foundation (C2Y).
TruetoAfrica makes getting involved easy! They provide clear values and objectives for their core program services, which include: providing education sponsorships for vulnerable children in rural villages; providing critical humanitarian needs and sponsorships; and providing tangible resource support for developing schools and improving student learning in the classroom.
To learn more about sponsoring the education of a needy child, providing critical humanitarian care or engaging in school development projects such as improving classroom learning or building schools, visit truetoafrica.org, email julie@truetoafrica.org, or call 801-691-4213. Also follow TrueToAfrica on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for updates.
"Education is a resource and, especially in developing countries, education is one of the most valuable life-long resources." - Steven Hite, President of TrueToAfrica
"Though we come from such vastly different backgrounds and cultures, we all have highly valued hopes and dreams for our children’s education." - Rachel (Hite) Eng