About the Foundation
“I always knew in my heart that I would work in Africa. I often had dreams of holding the hands of children in a village and knowing I would find a way to help them live a healthy and fulfilling life.”
The Director, Sarah Armstrong established A Brighter Tomorrow for Africa (BTA) because of her limitless desire to help women and children in Africa. In her words: “I always knew in my heart that I would work in Africa. I often had dreams of holding the hands of children in a village and knowing I would find a way to help them live a healthy and fulfilling life.”
BTA is a charitable foundation established under the 501(c) (3) section of the US tax code. The purpose of BTA is to improve the lives of women and children in the West Coast country of Sierra Leone through financial support of small, community-based organizations.
The Organizations Supported by BTA
Since its establishment in 2004, we have funded programs for a number of different children and women-focused community-based organizations including:
Children of the Nations/COTN: This is an organization that operates a nursery, primary and secondary school in Upper Banta Chiefdom in the Moyamba District in the south of the country. Children from villages all over the area walk—some for miles—to attend school. There is also an orphanage where the school is located and COTN cares for these children who also come to school.
Children's Learning Services/CLS: CLS was established to help children who are impacted by the violence in their society either during or after the civil war. Knowing that many of these kids do not know how to process all they’ve encounter, this organization designed and launched programs, that use a lot of “play acting,” to help boys and girls learn how to resolve conflicts without violence. The program funded by BTA is the School Conflict Management Program.
FreeTong Players: BTA provided funding for the FreeTong Players to conduct an assessment of land in Freetown on which they now have a school. The school is designed to teach children of all ages about the history of the country as well as provide additional remedial education skill training. All of the education is done through use of the performing arts.
National Accountability Group/NAG: Corruption in government and the community is a fact of life throughout most of Sierra Leone. NAG feels that there must be “a concerted effort by civil society and government to address corruption” and that’s the reason it was formed. They believe the way to accomplish this is to empower the people by providing information and public education. They have specific programs for educating children, giving them, at an early age, the ability to recognize and respond to corruption.
The Market Women’s Association: Illiteracy among women in Sierra Leone has been as high as a staggering 76%. There is a total lack of involvement of women in the decision-making processes in the country. The Association works with women to raise their reading and comprehension skills. They provide workshops, leadership training and civic education to help empower women.
