Ever since Cass, our Founder and CEO, delivered her TEDx talk in 2015, she has been looking for a meaningful way to practically embed the beautiful philosophy of Ubuntu into both the everyday work of So They Can and our broader vision for the future.

Recently, Cass connected with a generous donor who spoke about the concept of Pay It Forward being close to his heart. He described it as:

Not charity that creates obligation, but transformation that awakens generosity.

Those words strongly reflect what So They Can has always believed: our work does not end with the children and communities we support – that is just where the ripple begins.

Our Kenyan Education Manager, Boni Mouti (pictured below), who has worked alongside us for many years, explains it powerfully:

“Under our Ubuntu Philosophy and through our work, we continue to lift lives through education and community initiatives. While we continue to mentor our students and communities to volunteer and support one another at community level during the implementation of our activities, our work is essentially designed ultimately to give back to the society. We do not expect anything in return. The schools we are constructing do not end with the construction of classrooms, but year in year out, so many students will get the opportunity to study under those classrooms long after we are gone. But learning under very good classrooms is not an end in itself, these students graduate from one level of learning to another and end up getting appropriate skills that also do not end with them but are shared with the society through various fields. Doctors will go out to treat and ensure people are healthy. Teachers will impart knowledge that will go a long way to positively change people’s perceptions and knowledge. Engineers will construct infrastructures that will make communication and interaction much easier and bring people together. This is what we call human thriving. Clearly, today’s supporters and implementers of our programs will never meet those that will benefit from our participants’ work, nor use services that will be offered by our participants. We support the communities fully aware of these facts because we believe a person’s humanity is defined through relationships with others, interconnectedness, and shared identity. As followers of Ubuntu, we believe that individuals thrive only through community, compassion, and the success of the collective and not just the individual. This is where the multiplier effect comes in, coupled with greater kindness, integrity, and generosity because communities will be thriving.”

The multiplying effect

There is a simple truth at the heart of every thriving community: when one life is lifted, the lifting does not end there. It travels, moving quietly from person to person through actions, through care, and through the choices people make long after the original help is gone.

This is the spirit of Ubuntu. Pay It Forward.

Ubuntu reminds us that we are not separate. Who we become is shaped by how we show up for one another. No genuine act of help is ever isolated — it becomes part of something larger.

In the communities we work alongside, Ubuntu is not a theory, it is a way of life:

⭐️ A child who is given the chance to learn grows up and helps another child.
[Read Samuel’s story here]

⭐️ A young woman who is supported through education returns to mentor girls in her community.
[Read Moureen’s story here]

⭐️ A graduate becomes a teacher, positively impacting lives for generations.
[Read Emanuel’s story here]

⭐️ A health worker protects mothers and babies, strengthening entire families.
[Read about our Community Health Workers here]

No one is asked to repay what they have received; there is no obligation and no transaction. And yet something remarkable happens: people choose to pay it forward.

Not because they have to, but because they understand what it means to be helped, and because they remember what it felt like to know someone else cared.

This is the difference between charity and transformation.

Charity can sometimes create a quiet sense of obligation — a feeling that something is owed. Transformation does something deeper by restoring dignity, confidence and reminding people of their own capacity to contribute. And from that place, generosity flows naturally.

Ubuntu. Pay It Forward is not about a single act, but a chain that does not break.

Each person who receives support becomes a potential source of support for someone else. Each life touched creates the possibility of another life being lifted. The chain of impact grows in ways that cannot always be predicted and, as Boni said, reaches people the original giver may never meet.

And it doesn’t just touch the lives of those who are supported. Individuals who choose to give find themselves empowered too, through connection, perspective, and a deeper understanding of what it means to belong to a shared humanity, or as we like to say at So They Can ‘1HumanRace‘.

Untimely, the philosophy of Ubuntu reminds us of something both simple and profound: We are not separate from one another. We are one.

Pay It Forward: A Series of Impact

To celebrate the spirit of Ubuntu and the act of paying it forward, we’re excited to be launching a regular feature on our blog, ‘Ubuntu: A Series of Ripples’, which will feature quarterly stories from our global family of supporters, partners, participants and stakeholders. Stay tuned to our socials and blog for the first update soon.