Two students walking together along a school path at dusk

Field Notes

What it takes to keep a scholarship past year three

Funding is the easy part. The hard part is the relationship that keeps a scholar in school when life gets in the way.

Empowering Africa through education, one student at a time.

Students gathered outside a community school

Our impact

Five scholars currently supported in full, each with the holistic package: school fees, materials, clothing, pocket money, and mentorship.

Explore our impact

Volunteers packing community donation boxes

Get involved

Donate, mentor, tutor, or partner. Umoja is a movement, and movements need partners willing to invest in young futures.

See how to join

The opportunity gap

Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not.

Across Africa, brilliant students fall out of school not because they can't keep up, but because their families can't cover the fees. Umoja exists to close that gap, one student at a time.

scholars currently supported in full by Umoja, each with school fees, learning materials, clothing, pocket money, and a dedicated mentor. We started with one in June 2021. Every new scholar has been added one at a time, never faster than the relationships can carry.

Talent doesn’t choose its address. We don’t ask it to.

Community partners walking through a school courtyard

Our approach

Holistic support. Real mentorship.

Umoja's support is not limited to tuition. Every scholar receives the same package: school fees, learning materials, clothing, pocket money, and a dedicated mentor who checks in regularly with guidance, motivation, and personalized advice.

See how it works

A scholar studying at a community library

The long view

Each gift reaches a person, not a number.

We are deliberately small. Every donor sees the scholars their gift funds, every volunteer is paired with a scholar by name, and every partnership is reviewed by the two founders themselves. The motto we work to: together, we break down the barriers that prevent talented students from accessing the education they deserve.

From the blog