Ok. I realize I’m not changing the world on this trip. I didn’t set out to change the world but I did set out to make a difference. I hope I am making a difference. The thing is the things to change here are so big and the process is so long it’s going to take a long time with a lot of dedicated people to make a real change. Every day there are people here on the ground day in and day out with Big Beyond with such a great attitude and I have no idea why they don’t give up. Amy who started this whole thing and Nick who is the big picture manager for Uganda – they really are changing the world.

You see they can work for months and months on getting a group of families doing the right thing and working to produce crops or goods they can sell at the market so they can pay for their kids schooling – and then someone will come along and just flat out give a family cash. So the family pays their kids tuition for a year and drop out of the development programs and then after the cash runs out the family is in worse shape then before.

The Big Beyond team accepts these set backs and tries to figure out ways to overcome them or at the very least not become too discouraged. It’s inspirational.

I’ve learned there are a lot of really bad ways to help people in Africa – handouts of any kind are the very worst.

Thanks, B

Respect, professionalism and perseverance. Life is a gift. Living is a choice.