We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tammy Darmel Moore a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tammy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

A life-changing trip to Ethiopia in the Fall of 2019 compelled me to birth Footprints in Africa, a 501c3 organization committed to aiding the people of Africa, in poverty-stricken communities, with the necessities needed to maintain a standard quality of life.

It was during a three-day stint in the bush my path crossed with that of a teenage girl who asked me for the shoes on my feet. And due to the conditions of our surroundings (rough terrain), I didn’t give them to her.

When I returned to the states, I was determined to head back to Ethiopia in the coming months and give the shoes to the child, but COVID would hit, and travel would be restricted. So instead of doing nothing, I reached out to family members and friends (not social media) to donate their gently used shoes, so I could give shoes to more than the young girl I met in the bush. In less than two weeks, I had 100 pairs of shoes.

During the pandemic, when most were frantic and full of doubt (rightfully so), I combined my personal experiences, corporate skillsets, passion for people, and love for travel and turned them into a bonafide nonprofit called Footprints in Africa. I named it such because I witnessed more footprints than shoe prints in the bush during my visit.

Under my leadership, the organization feeds well over 5k souls daily, provides higher education scholarships, supports countless small independent business owners throughout Africa, and so much more. I literally recreated myself during the pandemic, all in the name of helping others. *I know what I’m doing is so much bigger than me. I get giddy just thinking about it.

Tammy Darmel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Tammy Darmel Moore (Visionary, Social Entrepreneur, Social Innovation Changemaker, and Impact Investor), and I’m pursuing greater possibilities by being a vessel for the least of these in Africa.

For decades, here in the States, I served my community with great zeal. However, it was a life-changing trip to Ethiopia in 2019 that compelled me to birth Footprints in Africa, a 501c3 organization committed to aiding the people of Africa, in poverty-stricken communities, with the necessities needed to maintain a standard quality of life.

Now, I’m no stranger to the different layers of creating, developing, and facilitating business needs, but building a non-profit from the ground up during a pandemic is no easy task. Yet, driven by vision and compassion for humanity and fueled by my love for the African continent, I’ve led Footprints in Africa to notable accomplishments.

We sponsored 12 schools in Kenya with a Life Garden each, thus providing well over 5,000 students with daily nutritious meals and holistic medicine to combat ailments.
We also covered the cost for the children to earn a certification in bio-agricultural training. These skill sets will undoubtedly last them a lifetime.
We rolled out a Legacy Scholarship in my honor for higher learning. Our recipient from The Gambia is going into his Junior year.
We’ve purchased retail items for our online store from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, The Gambia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, etc.; hence sowing investment dollars into countless business owners (artisans and skilled craftsmen) across Africa. *This initiative also makes it possible for those in the United States to own an authentic piece of the Motherland.

I’m beyond proud of the work that we’re doing at Footprints in Africa. And I’m so glad I didn’t allow the pandemic nor naysayers to detour me. When I think of all that I’ve accomplished for our people thus far, I know I’m my ancestor’s wildest dream.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Footprints in Africa, headquartered in the States, yet aiding those in Africa, was formed during the pandemic. So, yes, we have had some challenges that have tested my resilience, such as travel restraints due to COVID, causing us to cancel and reschedule trips, and when travel did resume, it was not without restrictions. Nonetheless, we couldn’t sit and hit our thumbs together. I had to come up with other ways to aid those in Africa while stateside, and that’s what I did. One way was by forming collaborative partnerships with those organizations on the ground, doing the work that aligns with our mission and vision; instead of us recreating the wheel. In doing so, we have 6 global collaborative partners: Omo Child Home (Ethiopia), Cordalife (Ethiopia), JusTea (Kenya), Thrive (Kenya), Midunu Chocolates (Ghana), and Kwame Baah (Ghana). In addition to 3 affiliate partners, 4 corporate partners, 12 community partners, and a host of small independent business owners (skilled craftsmen and traditional artisans), we work closely with daily.

In a short time, we have implemented several impactful, sustainable, measurable programs, projects, campaigns, and initiatives while increasing our stateside support system.

But when I consider all the factors, honestly, our challenges have been pretty minimal, and we’ve made tremendous strides in the lives of our people despite said issues.

To learn more about WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE DO, and how you can GET INVOLVED, visit https://www.footprintsinafrica.org/.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Being the Founder of a nonprofit is very humbling, as you’re constantly sharing the mission and vision with others; in hopes of their buy-in. When I started on this path 2.5 years ago, I felt I was somewhat begging folks for their support. Yet, one would have to know my disposition to understand, as I’m a doer that believes in making things happen (decent and in order), and relying on the support of others to get things done goes against who I am at the core. Needless to say, I set my ego aside and quickly came to terms with the mission being much bigger than me.

Today, as the heartbeat behind Footprints in Africa, I have no problem asking anyone for whatever we need. I actually do it with great zeal and admiration for those we aid in Africa.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.footprintsinafrica.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/footprints_in_africa/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FootprintsInAfrica2020
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/footprints-in-africa
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/FootprintsinAf1
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/footprints-in-africa-greenville?osq=Footprints+in+africa.

Image Credits
Carey Bradshaw for the Featured photo
Other photos by myself.