This morning we took the picturesque drive from Kigali to the Ugandan border and into Batwa country. It was a wonderful day, because the results of our programs with the Batwa are truly tangible. Arriving at the first village is always exciting. We have driven far, the last hour or more on an extremely bumpy …

Since I come to Africa only once a year, it is easy to see the progress made in our projects from year to year. This makes me feel confident that all of our efforts and those of our local partners are worth it, in most cases. Today, under a lovely tree on a farm off …

In years past, I have used the blog to describe the activities of each day during my visit to Pilot Light Projects and I have gone in depth about each project. This year, I am going to focus on the individuals that make up our beneficiaries instead. Today was a day of stories, both heartbreaking …

6/22/15 Tonight I am finally heading back to the US. We have travelled hundreds of miles by car through Uganda and Rwanda, through some of the most beautiful scenery that exists. We have met wonderful new people at every stop and reconnected with all of our extended Pilot Light family of colleagues, beneficiaries, drivers, hotel …

6/21/15 What an incredible way to end this 3 ½ weeks of visiting Pilot Light Projects. I met our partner Henry from the Youth with Disability Entrepreneurs Program at a conference in Mexico last October. He heads an organization called Youth With Physical Disability Development Forum (YPDDF). We shared a very special experience when my …

6/19/15 We are nearing the end of the project visits and today was the last full day in Rwanda. I wanted to take Rand (the filmmaker who is with us) to the genocide memorial in Nyamata. It is a very difficult place to visit, but I believe it is our responsibility to know what happened …

6/18/15 Today was another day that is the kind that re-focuses and re-energizes me to keep doing this kind of work. It was the second day of our visit to the Mother/Child Development Center Project (MCDC). We began the day at the Beverly Hills Academy, a pre-school and daycare for children of our beneficiaries. It …

6/17/15 Back in Kigali now, we had our first day visiting the Mother and Child Development Center (MCDC) Project, along with our partners Chantal and Hope and their volunteer, Olivier. Two of three vocational skills taught at the center are hair dressing and manicuring. Since my visit last spring, MCDC has opened a hair salon …

6/16/15 For the first time since I have been coming to Africa to visit our projects, I took a couple days off to visit the mountain gorillas, which live very close to our Batwa villages. It was great to have some time to relax and the gorillas were spectacular! However, a wonderful unexpected plus was …