Why I Joined the Literate Earth Project
By Chapman Ellsworth, Chief Financial Officer and Board Member
When I first learned about the Literate Earth Project and its mission to "establish literate communities in developing countries," I was hooked. I have always strongly valued education and I am extremely grateful for the learning opportunities, both formal and informal, and resources that have been afforded me throughout my life. As such, the opportunity to help, even in a small way, was (and is!) extremely compelling. I feel that we all have a responsibility to lift where we stand, meaning that we should use the skills and abilities we have to serve others. When I heard about the Literate Earth Project I saw a perfect opportunity to use some of the skills that I have developed to help advance a mission that will foster generational advancement and improvement.
Our mission to establish literate communities in Uganda is especially important to me because of my experiences with immigrants from Uganda (and other African nations) while a full-time volunteer for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Iowa. During that time, I grew to love my friends from Africa and learned from their stories and experiences. I read with these friends frequently and was inspired by the commitment I saw in them to advance in education despite a myriad of obstacles. These interactions clearly illustrated to me the importance of literacy and the transformational potential of education as well as the stark challenges that resource deficiencies present.
LEP's mission is also extremely meaningful to me because my wife is an elementary school teacher, and my mother was as well; as such, I frequently hear about the challenges and triumphs of helping young children to love reading. I am inspired by educators and want teachers and children in Uganda to have opportunities and resources like my wife’s students have in Los Angeles. LEP does just that as we focus on developing literacy by providing key resources for children in Uganda, including books and teaching practices that help the educators there to use resources more effectively.
My Role
As Chief Financial Officer, my role in the organization is to manage the finances and financial practices, which undergird these vital literacy efforts. As I help the organization with budgeting, taxes, and general financial management, my hope is to help optimally utilize the resources at our disposal so that we can do as much good as possible. Indeed, by using my own background in financial literacy, I can support the invaluable educational and literacy missions as a whole. I am helping to lift where I stand.
Literacy is empowering and life-altering. It has changed my life. It is exciting and fulfilling for me to play a part of the Literate Earth Project as we help to make a more literate Earth.
About Us
The Literate Earth Project has made significant progress on our path toward improving literacy within Uganda. Thanks to the hard work from teachers and schools, we can help every child learn, grow, and thrive. We are also excited to announce we are set to open our 17th library in the fall/winter of 2020.
That said, we still have so much further still to go in making an impact on the lives of Ugandan children. Join us on our mission to create lasting change- please reach out to get involved or donate today!