Uniting Distant Stars

Equipping youth with the knowledge and skills to realize their potential and become positive change makers

Uniting Distant Stars™, Inc. links future leaders and global innovators to educational resources and vocational training to influence positive changes in the world. Uniting Distant Stars is currently an all-volunteer organization with teams in the U.S. and Liberia.

We equip youth with the knowledge and skills to realize their potential and become positive change makers. We promote creative and innovative thinking to inspire our youth to reach for the stars. Through these efforts, more doors for future employment and entrepreneurship will open for Liberia’s young men and women.

Uniting Distant Stars™, Inc. is co-founded by Kelvin Fomba (Liberian) and Heather Cannon (U.S. Citizen). Since 2011, we have developed our shared vision to raise the aspirations of Liberian youth and guide them towards success. We provide scholarships, school supplies, after school study classes through our learning center, youth exchanges via Google Hangout, and vocational training to youth in Liberia.

Read Our Latest Blog Posts

Star Reflection – Remember 2017 When Our Team Received BioSands Water Filter Training & Built Their Own

In November 2017, UDS Friends Yeamah Brewer and John Buettner sponsored a six-day BioSands Water Filtration training by Friendly Water of the World. Also, Yeamah introduced us to the trainers. Read our 2017 Blog Post. Our team of seven learned how to wash and sift the...

Congrats to Kelvin Fomba for Earning His Geologist Degree!

We are happy to announce thathat Kelvin Fomba, Co-Founder & Director, wigraduaten May 30th with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) Degree in Geology fom the College of Engineering, University of Liberia. He started his journey in 2012 and stayed with it as he worked...

Star Reflection –Remember 2017 With a Volunteer Reflection, Students Applying Skills, and Our First House Party

Kevin Nah, one of our Minnesota volunteers, wrote a reflective piece, “This could have been me.” He talked about his experience of immigrating to the US and receiving access to quality education. Also, he explained how we make education accessible to Liberian youth....

Why not a new look at age 10? Check out our new brand 🙂

Since the beginning of 2023, Kelvin and I have met with Matthew Manning of Gumbo Media. Last year, I reconnected with Matthew, who knew our work and wanted to help. First, Matthew asked Kelvin and me questions about Uniting Distant Stars. Next, he started to...

May 13th Virtual Tea Time Recap

We had a great time at today’s Virtual Team Time. Chatting with our students and instructors about their experiences at UDS is fun. During the introductions, we asked everyone’s favorite color, and yellow won hands down. Questions flowed from the US side first; then,...

Star Reflection – Remember 2017 When We Participated in the Being the Change Event

In 2017, our partnership with Minnesota-based youthrive continued. This time we participated in “Being the Change,” focusing on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more. Before the Being the Change Event, we submitted a video of students and Kelvin Fomba...

Star Reflections – Remember 2017 When We Welcomed Our First Vocational Training Students

Now let’s walk down 2017 memory lane. We started our first official classes for vocational training on February 1, 2017. Learn more in the 2017 Blog Post. New students attended the orientation on January 27, 2017. These would be the first students to benefit from our...

Uniting Distant Stars Update 5/1/2023 – Learn more about how to be part of our work and 10th Anniversary

Heather Cannon, US Co-Founder & Executive Director, gives the latest update. https://youtu.be/D2OUvG1V8wI Here is a summary of the update: 00:36 Facebook Birthday Fundraiser Reminder - Tashie George https://www.facebook.com/donate/12273... 01:37 Virtual Tea Time...

Star Reflections – Remember 2016 Completing Renovations and Recruiting New Students

As we close 2016 posts for April, we will show the final steps to open our new center. Our academic scholarship students helped clean the interior of the building. Learn more. Final Renovations Kelvin Fomba and his team continued with the ongoing renovations. They...

Star Reflections – Remember 2016 Peer Virtual Exchanges, Shopping Event & Leasing & Renovating Our New Center

Virtual Peer Exchange In 2016, Anna Bertch was our youth volunteer and had a chance to talk with some of our youth in Liberia. Anna would later become our first youth board member. She contributed a great deal during her time with us. Read the 2016 Blog Post...