Kevin C. Hershock

The first time Kevin Hershock set foot in Northern Uganda, the war had just ended. Roads that once moved troops now carried families trying to find their way home. Communities that had survived decades of violence were starting over with almost nothing.

It was 2008. Kevin was a college student who'd already spent time in Detroit homeless shelters, on Pine Ridge Reservation, in the Dominican Republic, and across Eastern Europe. But Uganda was different. The Acholi people he met weren't asking for charity—they were asking for partnership. They had plans for their communities. What they needed was someone willing to walk alongside them for the long haul.

Kevin stayed. Not for a week or a semester—for years. He learned the language, ate the food, slept in the villages. He watched mothers who had survived unimaginable violence start small businesses. He sat with community elders who mapped out dreams for schools that didn't exist yet.

His first major project was a bakery. It employed women who had been exploited during the war, giving them income and dignity. The bakery ran for five years. But Kevin realized something: individual projects, no matter how successful, weren't enough. To really rebuild a community, you needed systems—healthcare, education, job training—all working together, all owned locally.

Building Something Permanent

In partnership with Simon Peter Wilobo and the Youth Development Organisation, Kevin secured six acres of land—Acholi land, for Acholi people. Together they built a medical center that's now treating hundreds of patients. A school for 380 children is nearly complete. Vocational training programs have taught 60 women to sew and 8 men to build. Every staff member—all 30 of them—is from the local community.

The difference from traditional aid is simple: when international funding ends, these programs don't collapse. The community owns them. The community runs them. The systems generate their own income and serve their own people.

2025 Impact

In just one year, the model proved itself:

• 700+ patients received medical care
• 68 adults completed vocational training
• 15 children supported through school
• 30 local jobs created
• 96.7% of funds went directly to programs

University of Worcester (UK) administrators visited and scheduled four student cohorts for 2026—proof that the model is attracting serious institutional partners.

Fifteen years after that first trip to Uganda, Kevin is still there, still building. But now he's not building alone. He's part of something the community owns—something that will outlast any single person or donation.