LUCIA was formed by a group of work colleagues at the University of Birmingham after one member, Sylvia Gardiner, visited her son in Ethiopia during the Christmas of 2004/2005. Whilst in Ethiopia she was struck by the poverty of the country and wanted to do something to help. Upon her return to England she gathered a group of interested work colleagues together, and a few months later LUCIA held its first official charity event.  Since then LUCIA has become a registered charity via the UK Charity Commission (no. 1112674).

Not only does LUCIA stand for ‘Life Uplifted by Change In Africa', but the charity was also named after one of the oldest sets of human remains that have ever been discovered. These remains were unearthed in Ethiopia, and as the archaeologists found them the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was playing on the radio...leading to her being christened 'Lucy'.  The name Lucia or Lucy also means light. We felt that the symbols of the first women in Ethiopia and of light both fitted well with the aims of the charity.