Ubuntu Education Fund

In 1999 two men, Jacob Lief and Malizole “Banks” Gwaxula, founded Ubuntu Education Fund on the philosophy of ubuntu; a universal bond of sharing that connects all of humanity—I am because you are.  With the goal of transforming the lives of the children of Port Elizabeth, South Africa Ubuntu was started in a broom closet with a raffle on a university campus and today has over 80 full time staff in South Africa with fundraising offices in London and New York.  The Ubuntu Model has become a blueprint for organisations around the world that strive for culturally appropriate, community-based development.  Ubuntu’s child-centred approach highlights the difference between merely touching a child’s life versus fundamentally changing it.

“It takes so much more than a cup of soup or a wind-up computer to change a child’s life.  The key is to invest in a child, their family and their community for the long-term. This means utilising significant financial and human resources. It’s not an easy solution, but Ubuntu has shown that it’s working.”

Jacob Lief, Founder and President