The Source Café rests on plot 20 of Main Street in Jinja. The café is one of many Kibo Group projects. The group is dedicated to working with communities in East Africa to reach their full potential through healthy, sustainable projects. They’re a U.S. based business as mission group formed by 15 Americans with over 70 years of combined experience living in Africa.
Gabriel and I met Rick, his friend and mine, at the Café because I wanted to learn more about this organizational model. I noticed immediately, though, that Main Street was full of mzungu. Rick reminded us that Jinja is a tourist town resulting from its proximity to the source of the Nile River (the Café’s namesake), Bujagali Falls and Itanda Falls both of which are popular whitewater rafting and kayaking locations with Class V-VII rapids.
Gabriel and Rick grew up in the same children’s home, Africa Children’s Foundation founded by Kefa Sempangi. I met Rick when we passed through last September when visiting the source of the Nile River and Bujagali Falls for the first time. He’s been traveling in Europe much this past year and I was glad to have this few minutes with him to catch up. Facebook is a wonderful thing, our friendship deepened while we were both away so when we saw each other in person for only the second time it was like seeing an old friend.