our team
letha sandison, founder/chief executive officier
letha sandison is the founder of wrap up africa (wua). her ingenuity and strategic vision are the heart of wua. letha’s belief in the principles of collective gain, environmental protection, and community building has informed wua’s mission.
letha has a lifelong passion for art and design; she holds a bachelor of fine arts degree and has shown her artwork in galleries in the u.s.. letha also has diverse business experience, having worked as a consultant for newspapers and healthcare corporations prior to pursuing her art and design degree. her combined background in art and business provided the ideal foundation for the creation of wua.
in 2007, letha and her family moved to uganda, where she saw firsthand the challenges faced by ugandan cancer patients. feeling compelled to help, she used family funds to launch wrap up africa.
in wua, letha has created a business model that uses market resources to help address development issues. not only is this an exciting new way to approach some of the world’s toughest problems, this model also ensures that benefits extend beyond the target population. while the primary beneficiaries of wua’s programs are african families struggling with cancer, wua also funnels money into the local economy, providing jobs, building capacity, and maximizing limited resources.
letha loves to spend time with her family, and sometimes enlists their help with wua as well. her young son, who conceptualized wua’s change for change program, has primary responsibility for the program’s blogs on the wrap up africa web site.
letha enjoys traveling and feels lucky to have the opportunity to indulge this interest in her work and with her family. she completed a half marathon in jinja, uganda, raising money for the endangered ugandan gorillas, and she is currently training for her next run. letha also still pursues her artistic passions. she is working on a series of paintings that feature her ugandan colleagues, and she recently held art classes for pediatric cancer patients at the hospital, giving the children a safe, creative way to express their feelings about their treatment.
letha is deeply committed to leaving the world a better place than she found it. she believes that wua can help to eradicate poverty and mitigate the suffering of uganda’s cancer patients through education, employment, gender equity, and ultimately, empowerment. letha, her husband, and her son divide their time between kampala, uganda, and seattle, washington.
rita apio, program administrator
rita’s love of children led her to wrap up africa in June 2007, when she began counseling pediatric cancer patients, administering their daily nutrition, and conducting art and play sessions.
today, as program administrator, rita oversees the day-to-day production of wrap up africa’s hand-crafted products from the kampala, uganda, wua office. she recruits the tailors, organizes training classes, purchases materials, and oversees the company payroll.
as the child of teachers, rita values continuing education and seeks out opportunities to enhance her skills. through wrap up africa, she recently attended a week-long training program at a healthcare company near san francisco, california, where she added to her management expertise and gained valuable insight into american business protocols and expectations.
a native of soroti, in eastern uganda, rita holds a bachelor’s degree in education from makerere university, uganda’s most prestigious university and the oldest university in africa.
cissy adiru, head tailor and trainer
cissy has been married for 32 years and is the mother of four children. two of her children are students at the university. she also cares for two orphans, a grandson and several other dependants. she has been tailoring since 1987 and has made many friends through her work. cissy says working with wrap up africa, is “a great idea, and I enjoy working with all of you and the children.”
evelyn akoko, tailor and trainer
born into the acholi tribe in a small village in the war-torn gulu district of northern uganda, evelyn is one of nine children. after overcoming many hardships as a consequence of her village being raided by the lords resistance army (lra) rebels, evelyn was left to care for her sister’s orphans. she completed a tailoring course and moved to kampala where she discovered many children suffering from cancer. these children really touched her and opened her eyes. she started volunteering with wrap up africa and was soon offered a job. she now works teaching our tailoring trainees.