Founded by an African in 1986, the Ark Foundation is the result of one woman's dedication and determination to empower and enhance the lives of African children whose lives have been tragically impacted by war and generational poverty.

 

The concept for the Ark Foundation was conceived in the mid-80s during Uganda’s devastating civil war. The founder’s vision was to build an organization that would create educational and other opportunities for children from very poor families.

 

The founder began by organizing informal sessions with villagers in Kenya and Tanzania and explaining to them the significance of supporting their own children, as well as those orphaned in the neighboring country of Uganda. She also encouraged entrepreneurship among village women as she taught them practical hands-on business skills that would help them build locally sustainable small business enterprises as means of generating income to support their children’s education and other basic needs. 

 

In 1991, the Ark Foundation was formally registered and granted 501c(3) non-profit status in Washington, DC.  

 

 

For over 17 years, the ARK Foundation has supported children and families in the most underserved communities in Eastern Africa. ARK has directly provided education to over 135,000 school age children, established more than 25 comprehensive educational programs that offer free or very low-cost services to both children and adults. ARK has provided hundreds of villagers and communities with technical skills that assist with providing sustainable solutions to community development. ARK has recruited regional and international volunteers who work side-by-side with our local African staff and volunteers.

 

We leverage our expertise and extensive partnerships to support our mission and broader objectives.  Our capacity to mobilize resources and pro-bono services made it possible for ARK to annually provide over 37,000 hours of volunteer services programs that support thousands of East Africans.