We are taking a day to relax before heading home and, as I reflect on this trip while laying beside a beautiful pool with a soothing breeze blowing, a green vista and Lake Victoria in the near distance, the truth that is present in every other day that I am here other than today is …

We left the hotel in Kampala this morning at 6:30 AM to head out for our last project visit in Kyankwanzi, central Uganda. It has been three long weeks. We have travelled more than a thousand miles by car, 50% of that on bad roads. This morning, we (myself, my husband and Pilot Light Program …

Today I realized how important our visits are to the success of the projects. It was also a day where we experienced incredible joy and a feeling of purpose and commitment, despite the fact that our Youth With Disability Entrepreneurs Program is not doing nearly as well as we would like it to be doing. …

Sometimes things go much better than you can imagine they will and today was a day like that. The Rice Farmer Cooperative-Lira (official name is North Rice Cooperative) is a project that was conceived one year ago during my trip to Uganda. Our partners at Development Monitors have done an extraordinary job of mobilizing the …

In Africa, you can find classrooms, meetings, meals and just about anything happening under a tree. It is there that we met the two remarkable young people highlighted below… After three days of travel in a row, we are now in Lira, Northern Uganda to visit two projects. We spent today visiting beneficiaries of our …

We have just gotten back to the city, Kigali, after a couple of days with no wifi. The last few days have been full of ups and downs, but ultimately every down has ended with an up, in the end. We spent one day with the Rice Farmer-Kihihi Cooperative, meeting with the board and then …

Sometimes when something happens that seems to be a terrible thing, it actually turns out to be a blessing in disguise. That is the case with our Coffee Farmer Cooperative. When we began this project, Father Ignatius was the advisor to the cooperative and was the one who was responsible for mobilizing the farmers, but …

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 …