How can savings .60 cents per week work to uplift and empower a family out of poverty? Well, we’ll tell you… But first, let us introduce GOA’s Jinyime Micro-Savings Group from Elukokho, Kenya: This group in rural, Western Kenya started with an average income of $26 dollars per month (less than a dollar per day). […]

Uganda Expedition Update
Milembe everyone! (That’s hello in Luhya, the language of our wonderful Ugandan locals). Another year in Uganda has come and gone and the successes of the most recent expedition are exciting in the least. The team of nine young, talented volunteers whose accomplishments affected over two hundred locals our fresh in our minds and in […]

Do-Gooders
After each expedition, we send out a Reflection Report to our volunteers asking them to give us feedback on what they learned and how they feel the projects were received on a local level. Megan from Michigan, who just completed an expedition in Uganda, wrote the following in regards to what she learned while in […]

Alliance
In a world full of 7 billion people, why do we often feel so alone? Why are we so scared? There’s no reason for isolation and fear–we are together–we are an alliance. We are an alliance because we are truly not alone. We are united as one human race. We are caretakers of this planet and […]

I don’t have time…
“I don’t have time.” -All of us It’s easy to say, isn’t it? We all have a million things going on at once–work, chores, bills to pay, emails to check, family obligations, etc. However, a midst the hustle and bustle of daily life, may we not for a moment forget others. “There’s more to life […]

Be Mindful
Along with being mindful of beauty and creation, do we take the time to notice those around us in their daily distress and need? I’m not just talking about the beggar or the hungry orphan. I’m talking about the everyday “Mr. Jones.” “Mr. Jones” is too battling his daily demons. He too his scared, vulnerable […]

The Joy of Giving
“No man can sincerely help another without helping himself.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson Historians hold the view that Abraham Lincoln often battled with feelings of occasional depression and melancholy. One way he countered those feelings was engaging in local community service or small acts of neighborly kindness. He became well known for always being one to lend a […]

Change is beautiful.
Happy New Year to all of our partners, volunteers, friends and supporters! May this be the year we make the changes necessary to achieve our personal and social dreams. On the topic of change, not too long ago, I stumbled upon these short, weekly web videos produced by Carl Weathers about the power of change. […]

Happy Holidays from GOA!
Dear Friends & Supporters: As we approach the end of another year, we are reflecting on how we did at “empowering communities” and realizing our mission to promote self-reliance in the global village. I imagine that you may not be familiar with all that we have accomplished this year, so it is my hope that […]

Inspiration From a Child's Desk
On a recent trip to Kenya, I was inspired by the words I found scribbled and/or carved on the children’s desks at the ESS school, one of the schools we support. Most of the students there come from families with annual income at or below the global extreme poverty line. Some of these students are […]