All success is local.

People should be happy where they live. It’s a dream we all share. We want to build our own lives, raise our families, and make a better world for our children. Lucien Obama, the man whose vision started it all, fell in love with his native Cameroon the first time he went back from Switzerland, his adopted home. To share that love, he started a farm. The land is fertile, the people work hard, and they want to make Afiri a thriving village. The seeds for success are there.

It’s a big idea, bigger than one person, bigger even than one farm. Achieving Afiri’s goals requires many people working together. With their new bridge and two fresh water wells, the people of the village have proven they can collaborate, turning dreams into a plan and that plan into reality. Today Team KKO, Lucien’s farm, provides the jobs that anchor Afiri’s economy. Soon, others will come to the village and start their own businesses: maybe they will sew clothing, teach their children, provide health care, or market and sell the skills they’re learning as they build their own infrastructure. 

Help us continue to provide the spark: basic infrastructure all can share is the goal we share with everyone in Afiri. Fresh water, housing, electrical power, transportation and communication links to the world are just the start of their progress. The people of Afiri will use these resources to grow on their own terms. This is our big idea.

The bridge to Afiri and the fresh water wells are our first projects. Everyone who comes to Afiri, and everything that goes from the village, will use the new bridge. So do the people in neighboring villages. It’s the same with Afiri’s fresh water: it brings better health, an improved diet, and a sense of progress and achievement that will continue with solar panels and electricity, housing, and other community resources. The dreams of self-sufficient people become a reality they share, and accomplishments we can all celebrate.