Carolyn Vincent - A Journey of Service and Connection

The Ubuntu Foundation was set up in 2019 by Carolyn Vincent. Growing up in India, Carolyn felt confronted at a very young age by the inequalities she saw all around her. She often wrestled with the big questions about why she had what she had and why others did not have the same privileges. She felt bereft, not knowing what she could do about it.

She was raised in a very close-knit community and proudly says she was raised by a village. In her own words, “I had over a hundred brothers and sisters and at least five sets of parents and grandparents.”

After moving to Australia, Carolyn became Co-Founder of Luggage Direct in 1993, starting from a modest 3-metre stall at the Riverside Markets. Over the next 15 years, she helped grow the business into a successful $10 million retail enterprise with multiple outlets. This journey instilled in her a deep understanding of business, resilience, and the power of creating opportunity.

Over the course of her 22-year marriage in Australia, she found herself inadvertently becoming more isolated. In 2010, when her marriage broke down, she realised how unsupported she felt at a time when she most needed it.

Determined to rebuild her network of support in Australia, she drew inspiration from her childhood experiences of community. “I had a compass,” she says.

Through her community work in Australia, and through astute investing following this period, she created significant wealth and decided she wanted to use it for good. The Ubuntu Foundation is the direct result of Carolyn’s lifelong questioning and desire to make a positive impact. She chose the name Ubuntu because it represents “community” and the belief that everything is interconnected and interdependent—what affects one directly affects all indirectly.

At the Ubuntu Foundation, we believe that many of the issues we face today as a society stem from disconnection: disconnection from ourselves, from each other, from our passions, and from nature. If we work together to reconnect in all these areas, we believe we can create a world that truly works for everyone.

The Ubuntu Foundation supports projects that facilitate connection on all of these levels.

As an extension of this vision, Carolyn is also the Founder of Kindness Out Loud, a national movement launching in the coming months. The initiative is designed to inspire people to share everyday acts of kindness that they see and experience —creating a visible ripple effect that encourages others to do the same. Through Kindness Out Loud, Carolyn aims to shift cultural norms, making kindness something that is not kept quiet, but amplified to strengthen connection and wellbeing across communities.

Carolyn was recently named Ambassador for Community at Brisbane Powerhouse, a leading arts precinct in Brisbane, reflecting her ongoing commitment to building connection through community and culture.

Join Us on Our Journey

We invite you to join us on this transformative journey towards a more interconnected world. Explore our projects, discover the incredible work being done, and find inspiration in the stories of those whose lives have been touched by the Ubuntu Foundation. Together, let us remember our inherent connection, embrace our shared humanity, and work towards a future where unity and harmony reign supreme.

Ubuntu Foundation: Connecting People & Cultivating Harmony. Because we are all in this together.