History

SMILE AFRICA INTERNATIONAL, a non-profit organization registered in Canada and Africa believes that empowering Africa to overcome its poverty begins with educating children.

Chris J. Ellom, president, started developing the vision for SMILE AFRICA in 1992 during a visit to his homeland in Ghana. As he arrived to attend his father’s funeral, the awareness of the dehumanizing poverty that existed in rural communities impacted him deeply. The overcoming realization was the lack of opportunity for children to learn and develop their potential. Chris, together with his wife Kathleen, decided to take action and SMILE AFRICA INTERNATIONAL (SMILE AFRICA) was born.

And so it began. In 1994, SMILE AFRICA International was federally registered in Canada and was granted a charitable status in 1995. Since then, the organization has been helping hundreds of children in Africa develop a passion for reading and learning about the world and their future. Literacy education offers them the tools they need to expand their minds and hopefully transform their circumstances. We have donated over 80,000 books, and have established many school libraries, computer and language labs and leadership programs to accomplish our vision – and we have the passion and objective to establish hundreds more.

At a time when the role of organizations, such as the Church, (once a pioneer) in education is being challenged, SMILE AFRICA finds it necessary to make literacy and education it’s flagship project; noting a strong emphasis on the intellectual values of all learning. We also appeal to all organizations working in Africa to strive to achieve the highest development of the human mind. This must be done within the framework of the moral formation and spiritual destiny of the human person.

Human poverty need not be permanent, but because of illiteracy and the lack of responsible activity, many people in Africa are unable to make the right decisions or collaborate in a truly human manner for the sake of the common good.

The vision of SMILE AFRICA remains one of shared responsibilities and equal opportunity for people to participate in their own development. In a world, in which every society is striving to reach for the stars, there is danger that many in Africa will not see the light unless we work strenuously to increase the quality of human learning via projects like these.

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