In 2013, Pastor Brad Otto joined the congregation he was serving on a mission trip to Ethiopia. The church had learned about the water crisis there, which is severe. Many people have no access to clean drinking water, and waterborne disease runs rampant in rural areas. The church was so inspired to help that they sent a group to Ethiopia to build two water wells. 

The water crisis in Ethiopia is a widely recognized issue, and little by little, one well at a time, the problem is being addressed. But there Otto was, on the ground in Africa, and another crisis struck him. A different one. “During my time there, I became aware of another crisis—one that, despite being one of the top three factors contributing to poverty, receives far less attention than water: education.”

As the story goes, Otto was approached by a brother and sister at an open-air market. They didn’t ask him for money. Or food. Instead, they asked for a pen. He was baffled, and asked the group’s guide to explain—why pens? He learned that the children—who were now gathering around him—needed pens so that they could do their homework. “That moment hit me hard,” Otto recalls. “How could something so small and insignificant to me mean so much to them? For them, that pen was more than just a tool—it was a key to unlocking opportunities and a future filled with hope.”

Some 145 million children in the world lack access to education—and even those who can attend school face shortages of essentials—like water, books . . . pens. 

So in 2014, Otto founded Acts of Wisdom, an non-profit charity organization dedicated to addressing these needs in schools across Ethiopia, Liberia, and Uganda. The goal: getting the next generations educated, to make a lasting impact and change lives. They do this by providing books and school supplies, expanding classrooms, building libraries, and supporting the needs of teachers. 

“Since 2014, we have delivered over 60,000 schoolbooks, supported more than 7,200 children across three countries, improved infrastructure, enhanced literacy rates, increased the number of girls attending school, and reduced dropout rates from 35 percent to just 0.9 percent,” says Otto.

In addition, Acts of Wisdom has expanded to provide housing and support for orphans in and around the communities where the schools are located. 

“We are currently supporting orphans in Ethiopia, many of whom have no parents to rely on,” Otto explains. “Some were found living on the streets, while others were left in churches with nowhere to go. Today, our program provides education and support to twenty students, most of whom are orphaned, while a few come from extremely impoverished backgrounds. These sponsorships are life-changing for them.” Life-changing indeed. Every one of the sponsored students ranks in the top two percent of their class, and five have graduated, gone to college, and secured full-time jobs, “an outcome that would not have been possible without our intervention,” Otto says. 

Now, Acts of Wisdom is undertaking its biggest endeavor yet: to build a school in Liberia. “Our current school is too small, forcing us to turn students away due to limited space,” says Otto. “This new, two-story facility will allow us to expand from serving 160 elementary students to over 700 students across both elementary and middle school levels. It will also include a science lab and a computer lab—making it one of the first schools in the entire area to offer such resources and significantly enhancing the quality of education we provide.”

Meanwhile, in Kenya, Acts of Wisdom has begun its support of the Solai Nyakinyua Primary School “not only through our efforts in the funds we raise, but through a special partnership with Solai Coffee, where a portion of each bag Acts of Wisdom sells not only helps the coffee farmers, but we reinvest back into the school,” says Otto. 

That’s right: You can buy coffee and support these efforts at the same time. Or pick up a t-shirt. Or a hoodie. Every purchase helps a child stay in school.

There are other ways to help, too. For $20 a month you can help keep a child in school. It costs a mere 63 cents a day to make sure a student has the necessary supplies to learn and stay in school. Or you can make a donation to the school-building project. Acts of Wisdom is raising $154,000 for construction—in the first nine months of the fund drive, they’ve already received $40,000 in donations. 

Or if you’re inspired to experience this ministry firsthand, you can travel with Acts of Wisdom to the countries they serve. “Come with us and see for yourself the difference we are making,” says Otto. “Join us on these trips as we help schools, learn about the education crisis, and experience the culture of these amazing countries.”

Otto earned his BA in theology from TLU in 2001 and went on to earn his Master of Divinity from the Lutheran Seminary of the Southwest. In addition to being founder and president of Acts of Wisdom, Otto is senior pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas—the very same church that went on the mission trip that changed the course of his life more than a decade ago. He’s also a podcaster and author of the book Finding Myself Again. He and wife Stacie have two children. 

Visit Acts of Wisdom online and get involved right here: Acts Of Wisdom