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.

WATCH | LISTEN

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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