Podcast episode
Episode 354 – This 4-Pillar Model Is Transforming Uganda’s Future | Andrew Devaney
Join host Justin Forman in conversation with Andrew DeVaney, founder of As One Africa, for an inspiring discussion about what it takes to solve interconnected problems in rural Uganda. From his friendship with a rural educator to building a four-pronged model serving 50,000 patients, 4,000 students, and 5,000 farmers annually, Andrew shares how empowering Ugandans to solve Ugandan problems creates sustainable transformation.
EPISODE NOTES
Andrew DeVaney didn’t set out to build a four-pillar community development model. It started with a friendship—staying with a rural Ugandan educator and witnessing firsthand how education, healthcare, agriculture, and employment challenges are deeply interconnected in communities where the majority live on subsistence farming.
Now As One Africa operates seven locations with 420 full-time Ugandan staff, serving 4,000 students, 50,000 patients, and training 5,000 smallholder farmers per location. But the real innovation isn’t the scale—it’s the model. By treating beneficiaries as customers and building earned revenue streams, they’re creating sustainable solutions that don’t depend on foreign aid.
Discover why Uganda’s young population represents massive opportunity, how storytelling can shift narratives about Africa, and what it takes to stay in the game long enough to see real transformation happen.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction: Solving big problems together
01:53 Geography 101: Understanding Uganda’s context
02:16 50 million people in the size of Oregon
03:23 The demographic advantage: Africa’s young population
03:51 Why young people expect better from their leaders
05:12 The big problem: Rural service delivery challenges
06:09 Empowering Ugandans to solve Ugandan problems
09:04 “You want to catch a thief, send a thief”
09:11 Coming alongside vs. replacing local leadership
11:55 Sustainability through earned revenue models
13:27 From beneficiaries to customers with voice
14:12 Community buy-in through financial investment
16:54 Scale overview: 7 locations, 420 staff, thousands served
17:41 Why these four pillars? Schools, health, farms, business
18:52 The interconnectivity of rural poverty
19:32 Many players needed to solve big problems
20:16 The airport analogy: Building economies takes collaboration
21:52 Overcoming scarcity mindset for abundant Kingdom thinking
22:09 Starting with conversations and relationships
24:29 Abundance mindset: There’s so much out there
24:52 The church’s unprecedented resources today
25:08 Praxis impact: Venture building meets soul care
25:25 Balancing what we create with who we are
27:18 Time in the game: Long obedience in the same direction
28:30 Creative problem-solving with moving goalposts
29:04 Not just what we do, but how we do it
29:48 Re-risking and staying in the game
30:21 Humble ambition in the Praxis community
30:49 The power of storytelling: Shifting African narratives
31:54 Telling stories with dignity and possibility
32:32 Hope rooted in resurrection: Neither pessimist nor optimist
33:33 Supporting actors: Letting Ugandans be the heroes
34:01 Words don’t just describe reality—they create it
34:21 Check out As One Africa: asonearica.org
34:43 Closing: Where to get involved and learn more
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