Every year, I sit down to write this report, and every year, I don't know where to start. Not because there's nothing to say — but because there's too much. 2025 was a year of extremes. The worst drought in 40 years pushed 23 million people to the edge of famine in the Horn of Africa. Conflict in eastern DRC forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. The global community, distracted and divided, was slow to respond. But in the gaps left by slow governments and overwhelmed agencies, something remarkable happened: ordinary people did extraordinary things.
I want to tell you about two of them. First is Mama Joyce, a 62-year-old grandmother in Turkana who walked 12 kilometers to our distribution point, collected a month's supply of emergency food for her grandchildren, and then walked back. When I asked her what she needed most, she didn't say food or water. She said: A pair of shoes for my grandson. He walks to school on bare feet and the ground is burning. Second is Samuel, a 19-year-old in northern Uganda who, after losing both parents, became the sole caregiver for his four younger siblings. He joined our youth mentorship program, learned to farm, and now grows enough vegetables to feed his family and sell the surplus. When I asked him what kept him going, he said: I don't have the luxury of giving up. They're counting on me.
These are the people behind the numbers. These are why we do what we do.
Our Reach in 2025
Last year, Peace League Africa reached 1.4 million people across 12 countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, DRC, Sudan, Malawi, and Zambia. That's a 35% increase from 2024. We operated 1,200 programs across 6,000 communities, supported by 4,500 trained volunteers and 340 staff members. Our total expenditure was $14.2 million, of which 86% went directly to program activities, 9% to fundraising, and 5% to administration. We maintained our Charity Navigator 4-star rating for the fifth consecutive year.
Program Highlights
- Peace Education: 500 schools across 4 countries. 12,000 student peace ambassadors trained. 67% reduction in classroom violence. 43% improvement in attendance.
- Clean Water: 34 new boreholes, 28 rehabilitated wells. 80,000 people gained access to clean water within 1 kilometer. Diarrheal disease dropped 64%. Girls' school attendance up 41%.
- Health: 4 mobile clinics serving 84 villages. 28,000 patient consultations. 12,000 children vaccinated. 340 safe deliveries. 240 community health workers trained.
- Women's Empowerment: 2,400 women peacebuilders trained. $2 million in microloans disbursed to 14,000 women entrepreneurs. 97% repayment rate. Average income increase: 120%.
- Emergency Response: 1,400 metric tons of food delivered to 84,000 people. 4.5 million liters of clean water distributed. 18,000 malnutrition cases treated.
- Reforestation: 1,034,000 trees planted. 12 springs restored. 40% reduction in resource-related conflicts.
- Child Welfare: 3,000 orphaned children supported. 1,200 enrolled in school for the first time. 180 reunified with extended family.
The Math of Hope
Here's what I want you to understand about these numbers. The 67% reduction in school violence? That's a girl named Amon who can now focus on her math homework instead of worrying about being attacked on the way to class. The 64% drop in diarrheal disease? That's Naserian, who no longer spends 12 hours a day walking for water. The 341% repayment rate on loans? That's Margaret, the woman who turned $75 into a shop, who now employs two other women who never had jobs before. Every single number in this report has a face. A name. A story.
The economist in me loves the data. But the human in me — the part that has held crying children, sat with grieving mothers, and danced at community celebrations — that part knows that the data is just a shadow of the truth. The real truth is harder to measure. It's the feeling of a mother who, for the first time, can buy medicine for her sick child without begging her husband for permission. It's the pride of a student who becomes the first in their family to read. It's the joy of a community that chooses reconciliation over revenge.
What's Next
2026 is already shaping up to be a bigger year. Our partnership with the African Union will begin rolling out peace education to 15 countries. Our emergency response team is prepositioning supplies in anticipation of another difficult drought season. We're expanding the microfinance program into Ethiopia and South Sudan. And we're launching a new initiative — one I can't talk about in detail yet, but it involves mobile technology and the 1.4 billion people in Africa who still don't have bank accounts.
But none of this happens without you. The 340 staff, the 4,500 volunteers, the 12,000 peace ambassadors — they do the work. But you make it possible. Your $25, your $50, your monthly sponsorship — these aren't donations. They are investments in a different kind of future. A future where spring water flows where it hasn't flowed in 27 years. Where a 19-year-old orphan grows enough food to feed his siblings. Where a boy who wouldn't speak becomes a striker on the school football team and announces he's going to be a doctor.
That future isn't a fantasy. It's already happening. And you're part of it. Keep it going.
