Okello David
Founder/School Director
The name, Okello, is a popular name in Northern Uganda that is often given to a male person who follows twins or has a complicated birth. He was born on June 28th, 1989 to typical farmers in the village of Pajule where his parents could not afford to give birth in the hospital. His father is Amone Charles Otukene (RIP) (1955-2017), and his mother is Adurina Atto (1959-present).
His parents raised him in a village called Labongo, in Lapul subcounty, Pader District, Northern Uganda, a region that had been highly affected by war for three decades. Due to the long distance (7km) to the nearest primary school, he did not begin 1st grade until he was 11 years old. In 4th grade, Okello was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and held captive until he escaped 10 months later. After a period of rehabilitation, he persisted with his education, more motivated than ever, even skipping a few grades to regain traction.
In early 2012, he joined a primary teachers college to pursue a grade III teaching course that took 2 years to complete. Afterward, he came back home and started working as a teacher in a school called Faith Alive Foundation. For the hard work and experiences he underwent, he was hired as a licensed teacher at Kitgum Public Primary School. Here he was a specialist for teaching literacy and reading in infant-level classes (grades 1-3) and parted ways to begin working on his vision of starting True Vine Education Centre with Melinda.
Melinda Russell
Founder/Technical Advisor
Raised in Longmont, Colorado, Melinda grew up in a family of six siblings, three sisters, and two brothers. Having so many children around during her childhood heavily influenced her love of working with children. In high school, Melinda took a semester abroad in Spain, and the experience sparked a passion for travel and experiencing new cultures that inevitably shaped many of Melinda’s future pursuits.
Melinda graduated from San Diego State University in 2012 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication. After years of traveling both domestically and internationally to places like Vietnam, Ghana, and Cuba, Melinda decided to join the Peace Corps. Having been fascinated with Eastern Africa, she applied to the Uganda branch of the Peace Corps as an English Literacy Specialist. After the initial training, she was assigned to the Kitgum Public Primary School in Kitgum Town, Northern Uganda. This is where she first met Okello David and co-taught second grade with him during her stay.
Sadly, after a short three-month period in Kitgum, COVID-19 broke out globally and all Peace Corps volunteers were evacuated back to the US. However, David and Melinda maintained contact, sharing the dream of starting a one-of-a-kind school in Northern Uganda where they could provide an education that used innovative teaching techniques not seen in government schools. Through very generous donations, a collective mentality, and persistent attitudes, Melinda and David have made tremendous progress in what was once just a dream.