Until I am committed, there is hesitancy, a chance to draw back. But the moment I definitely commit myself, then God moves also, and a whole stream of unforeseen incidents, meetings,persons and material assistance which I never have dreamed would come my way begin to flow toward me–the moment I make a commitment.

Is your board and executive team aligned and committed to a unified vision, mission and strategic direction?
Is your organization applying focus and resources on the right priorities? Are your plans being consistenly executed?
Are you achieving optimal outcomes & results? Is every objective or goal owned by a person or team?
Many non-profits refer to their One Page Business Plan as their “One Page Promise.” It helps executives, managers and volunteers clearly define and live up to their promises at the organization, department, project and program level.

Arrived yesterday afternoon and spent delightful time with my host Moses Okudu and one of his business consultants. We are going to work today creating the One Page Business Plan for BDC Uganda and then completing arrangement to teach the Entrepreneurs Class and do two breakfast workshops with Business Owners and government officials.  I am hopeful that I can provide value to each of these people. It still feels surreal being here and wondering how it will go. It helps to remember that it was not my idea in the first place!

I was blessed to spend a wonderful morning meeting with Ken Oloo, the founder of Filamujuani, and his talented team of young film production, editors, and writers.  They are an inspiring team of people who are doing exciting work in Nairobi.

out www.filamujuani.org. You will love what they are doing!!

Their vision is to become the leading content production company in Africa! I believe they will make it!

Smooth flight from Newark. Not full and on time. able to sleep a few hours. Next flight eight hours into Nairobi.  Have my Deet ready to go.  Hope the driver is waiting for me.  Otherwise will have to try my luck with Kenyan taxis.

Go Seahawks

Thanks to the encouragement of the two brothers, I leave Newark the evening of January 30th and fly through Amsterdam to Nairobi. Will spend three days there with Ken Oloo from a wonderful nonprofit (www.filamujuani.org).

Then on to Uganda and three days of teaching with Regent University’s Business Development Center as well as meeting with Ugandan business owners discussing FCCI and the global marketplace movement. 

The last three days will be spent with a wonderful school, John Paul II Academy that is supported by a Pennsylvania nonprofit, the Bridge to Uganda. 

I’m excited, more than a little nervous since this is way outside my comfort zone, and looking forward to seeing what learnings God has in store for this old guy.

Had a special meeting with a friend and his brother this morning. They wanted to know when I was planning on going to Africa. I was not certain….thought it might be late summer since the original arrangements had not worked out.

Both brothers encouraged me to “stop planning” and “get going”. They helped me to see that I already had all the contacts and information I needed to plan the trip.

It was just what I needed to hear. I am going to nail this down….and have a plan together ASAP!

Last August, attended the Global Leadership Summit (Willow Creek Associates). Huge 2 day event simulcast in 130 locations across the US with 70,000+ attending. Met a local attorney who was involved with Uganda. In December, I had the chance to meet the Catholic Priest that established and runs John Paul Academy for 300 youth from across Uganda. This might be an additional place to visit on the trip. They are located about 50KM north of Kampala. The students live there and go to school 11 months of the year.

Next year, they hope to add an additional 100 students.  Information can be found at www.bridgetouganda.org

So Ken (in Nairobi) and I (in Broomall) get underway coaching and talking via Skype building the One Page Business Plan for his company.  A month later he comes to New York and I am able to meet with him there.  The next week, he came down to Camden and visited team at Hopeworks.  Now… it looks like there may be programs that result that connect the youth in Kenya with the youth in Camden.  Wow… what could this look like?

Since returning home, Uganda and East Africa connections have been coming out of the woodwork. It’s been simply amazing and mind blowing to see how God has been working once I said my “Yes”.  I plan to go sometime within the next 11 months and will be doing a blog to chronicle how this all rolls out.  Our God is a God of surprises and awesome power.

One of the connections is a Kenyan film company that works with youth in the Kibera slums outside Nairobi. I received an email from a friend in NYC asking if I would be willing to mentor and work with the founder of the company. Ken became my first Skype client and an entirely new picture of what might be possible started to emerge for me. Ken founded a company that trains youth from the slums in how to produce film, video, and TV programs. They do the work commercially and earn money to pay for college. It’s an awesome model and has been working well for them. I was asked to use the One Page Business Plan with him to help take it to the next level. I loved the model and saw great similarity to a nonprofit (Hopeworks in Camden) that I’ve been involved with for many years. They do something very similar… equip youth in Camden who have dropped out, or are in danger of dropping out, with computer knowledge (web site design, GIS, etc.) so they can finish high school and go on to college. Both groups provide hope… and training that leads to a way out of current circumstances and the possibility of a better, more productive life. What a coincidence!