Our Story
Ubuntu Africa: "I am because we are."
The Spark of Collective Action
Ubuntu Africa began with a simple act: showing up and listening. In 2020, a visit to the Ngando slum in Nairobi uncovered a community facing unimaginable hardship—children learning in broken classrooms, families trapped in cycles of poverty, and dreams held back by lack of opportunity. What followed was a grassroots movement powered by empathy, storytelling, and action.
Today, Ubuntu Africa has created Safe Haven Education and Community Centre, which provides education, meals, healthcare, hygiene products, school sponsorships, and humanitarian aid to vulnerable children in Ngando. But it doesn’t stop at the classroom. We’re now building pathways for parents too through skills workshops, adult learning, and community development because sustainable change only happens when whole families are supported.
Courtney Macdonald working directly on site in Ngando
Word from the Founder
Courtney Macdonald
Although Ubuntu Africa was officially founded in 2025, the heart of this work began with a single step into the Ngando slum in 2020 just before the world shut down. What began as a visit quickly became a life-changing calling. I found myself face to face with the brutal realities of extreme poverty witnessing the daily hardship, poverty, and vulnerability in this community, I couldn’t look away.
Over the past six years, through sheer determination and community support, we’ve helped relocate and rebuild a primary school, provided hundreds of children with access to quality education, daily meals, medical care, dental hygiene kits, menstrual products, school supplies, junior school sponsorships and more.
In November of 2025, we broke ground on building the permanent Safe Haven Education and Community Centre and opened our doors in January 2026. We’ve laid the foundation, now we’re building something that lasts - because every child deserves more than survival. They deserve a future.
Meet Our Trustees
Lisa
Trustee
Deeply committed to transparent execution, resource distribution, and guiding our institutional expansion strategy across communities.
Carole
Trustee
Driven by a passion to amplify underrepresented student perspectives, structural project oversight, and maximizing programmatic accountability.