Meet the Team

IN THE UK

We have 3 Trustees- Ally Gruber, Trevor Austin and Jana Williams.

Ally – Trustee, Chair, Treasurer

Ally was instrumental in setting us up as a UK charity, which was a feat in itself! We will be ever thankful to her for this, as becoming a Charity, has enabled us to become more grounded, given us clearer objectives, kept us regulated and has given us funding opportunities such as Gift Aid. As our Chair and Treasurer, she has to submit our annual reports to the Charity Commission. She works closely with the whole team and is the driving force behind the UK team. She works closely with Joseph and Will to ensure the kids remain at the heart of everything we do.

Trevor – Trustee, Contracts & Agreements

Trevor joined Step Up Family Organisation UK as a sponsor in 2021 and, following the charity’s restructuring, has also stepped forward to serve as a Trustee in 2026.

Trevor’s role focuses on contracts and agreements, helping to ensure that arrangements made on behalf of SUFO are clear, appropriate and properly managed. He also works alongside his wife to support communication with our colleagues in Uganda.

Trevor is committed to helping build a strong, accountable and sustainable organisation that can continue supporting children and families in Uganda for the future.

Jana – Trustee & Secretary

Jana is a Trustee and Secretary of Step Up Family Organisation UK, playing an important role in the governance and day-to-day administration of the charity.

As Secretary, Jana helps maintain meeting minutes and records, supports trustee administration and helps coordinate actions across the Board. She is also currently supporting SUFO’s fundraising and grants work, helping us explore new opportunities to strengthen the charity and the support we can provide.

Jana works closely with the whole team, helping to ensure that SUFO is organised, accountable and focused on its purpose: supporting the education, wellbeing and opportunities of children in Uganda.

IN UGANDA

We have 2 Directors (like UK Trustees in Uganda) – Joseph and Will and 3 other team members.

Joseph – Founder, Director

As you will have seen in ‘How We Started’, Joseph has been the mainstay of the project, since he started looking after street children over 10 years ago. He is one of 2 Project Directors ( like a UK Trustee). Joseph dreams big! When he said he wanted to a build a school, he did with friends and supporters help. When he said he wanted to build a safe house, he did, with friends and supporters help. Now Joseph specialises in teaching the children skills so that whatever happens to them in the future, they will always have the means to survive. When he isn’t in school or teaching children to look after livestock, build bricks, play the drums or instigating sewing or soap making lessons, he is more than often to be found on the land, planting crops with the children, some which help feed children at Lovell Nursery and Primary School and even the community. Next, he wants to set up starter businesses for some of our older children that have now left school ie a barbers and hairdressing salon, tailors shop, printing and graphics etc. Without Joseph, there would be no Step Up Family Organisation.

Will – Director, Financial Manager

Will is an important part of the Step Up Family Organisation team in Uganda. He first became involved with the project after moving to Busia, initially working in the Step Up unisex salon before gradually taking on more responsibilities within the organisation.

Today, Will is our buyer and transporter, helping to keep the practical side of the project running smoothly. He sources supplies and works hard to secure the best possible prices, while also providing essential transport for children, parents and volunteers. From school visits and medical appointments to collecting visitors from the airport, Will is often the person helping everyone get where they need to be.

Will’s hope for the future is to see the vulnerable children supported by SUFO today grow to be the ones who provide for, teach and lead their own communities tomorrow. As he puts it, his dream is to know that his own hands have played a part in building that future.

Patricia

Our Matron. She sleeps in the girls dorm to safeguard the children. She also helps them with feminine hygiene and supports them with the girls issues. She also supports the younger children living in the safe house with their daily routines, bathing, washing clothes and hygiene etc.

We also have Dan who is in charge of updates, as well as Daniel and Marvin who help when they’re not at boarding school.