About Us

OUR PURPOSE AND VISION

“On behalf of the men and women whose faces you will never see but whose lives are better today, whose families are safer, and who have access to clean water, education, self-support assistance, and healthcare services because of your generosity, we thank you for your vital and continued support. You are our heroes!”
–Lynette Gay, ENA Chairwoman

ENA’s mission is to heal, rescue, and lift our brothers and sisters in Africa. Our purpose is to provide resources and training to vulnerable populations, enabling them to become self-reliant and substantially improve their lives. We accomplish our mission by developing greater capacity in the individuals and communities we serve. We focus on the fundamental building blocks that lead to individual self-reliance, including clean water, sanitation, health, education, micro-credit, and other income-generating activities that strengthen families and build communities.

Why Heal, Rescue and Lift Others in Africa

OUR HISTORY

In the year 2000, Bob and Lynette Gay took their family to Kenya on a journey that would forever change their lives. Designed as a humanitarian trip to help others in need, they discovered a trip that blessed their children. They found young and old—burdened with poverty, disease, deprivation, and almost insurmountable challenges. Bob and Lynette knew then they had to do something to help those forgotten individuals—and they went to work. After careful analysis and planning, they organized a medical expedition to Ethiopia’s Rift Valley. Teaching stations were established, and Lynette, along with 30 other volunteers, went to work with Ethiopian doctors, training 21 local health workers on medical practices that would significantly improve the health of the rural population: boiling water, hygiene and sanitation, oral rehydration following diarrhea and de-worming. To their astonishment, the team treated over 2,000 patients that week. The trip was an exhausting, exhilarating, challenging, and beautiful experience. It set the stage for more trips.

Year-by-year, step-by-step, this effort, which today is now known as Engage Now Africa (ENA), grew in capacity and scope. We learned to address local challenges with long-term sustainable initiatives—developed, implemented, and maintained by local communities. We are grateful to all the inspiring people who helped create the foundation upon which ENA stands. We honor all those who genuinely gave to be a part of this miracle—volunteers who endured heat, sickness, and sleepless nights, our corporate partners who have contributed equipment and medicines, our generous donors who sustain our programs, our outstanding, talented, hardworking staff on the ground, and so many others, too many to mention. In the end, it is the African people we love to serve.

Today, our early years’ medical excursions have been replaced with the construction of rural health posts, modern medical clinics, and pharmacies, making health care accessible to those truly in need. We have built 69 schools with a capacity to teach over 1,453 million young students every day. We have over 11,000 adults learning to read and write English in our nationally-recognized adult literacy program. We provide opportunities for scholarships and vocational training. ENA also provides business training, mentoring, and financial resources to entrepreneurs to help start and grow small to medium-sized businesses.

OUR THEORY OF CHANGE

Our theory of change is based on a multi-faceted approach. We design projects and programs focused on addressing the needs of individuals and families vulnerable to poverty, aiming to empower recipients to become self-reliant.  We mobilize local assets in collaboration with global partners, government ministers, and tribal leaders to align projects with community needs.

We invest in our employees’ leadership capabilities to ensure they have the necessary skills and knowledge to deliver impactful interventions to recipients. We are highly committed to program efficiency, transparency, and accountability, as manifested by a below-average program/administrative cost ratio.

WHERE WE OPERATE

ENA funds projects in five Sub-Saharan African countries to address extreme poverty and help individuals and families become self-reliant.

Ghana Office: 23 full-time employees and 20 part-time facilitators and consultants.

Ethiopia Office: 10 full-time employees.

Sierra Leone Office: 11 full-time employees.

Namibia Office: 2 full-time employees

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

"I invite you to consider the many profound ways that you can make a positive difference in the world today if you'll only make a decision to engage now."

Steve Young – NFL Legend

"The voices of the poor are not silent to us; we will help all those we can. We will go to the one that is often outside the reach of others."

Dr. Lynette Gay-ENA Chairwoman and Chairwoman of the Board Ensign Global College

I have been working with ENA in Sierra Leone for the past four years. They have changed lives through their clean water, employment, and health initiatives. By using in-country staff, they provided career development and educational opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable for their staff. My visits to Sierra Leone with ENA are my favorite trips every year. I look forward to working with them for many more years.

Dr. Susan Arogyasami, MD

My family and I love this organization and have donated and will continue. We believe that lifting others out of poverty is the key to removing so many disheartening problems this world faces, and this cannot be achieved just by throwing money at the problem. We have seen that this organization has had continual support from staff and volunteers, providing remarkable outcomes. Thank you for honoring our donations and helping the vulnerable that need help the most. Keep up the great work!!!

Summer Paulos–ENA Board Member

Engage Now Africa engages with communities in multiple locations in sub-Saharan Africa to make real change and therefore have a real impact. They combine effective programs, meaningful community relations, and a commitment to improving lives. Their focus on increasing capacity means that they invest in people so that they can become more self-reliant and can pay it forward to others. ENA is a terrific organization making the world a better place for many!

Professor Stephen C. Alder President, Ensign Global College

There are so many wonderful things I could say about this organization! I've been volunteering with them since 2005 and have had the opportunity to visit Ethiopia many times over. Their programs are phenomenal and have made such an impact! Literacy, microcredit, schools, health posts, the list of their work goes on and on. Thank you for the opportunity to serve and love!

Kimberly Woods, ENA Volunteer