On June 22, the New York office gathered for the latest CSR speaker series on women in Africa. Joanne Ollman, chief professional resources officer, provided opening remarks to the audience, and our esteemed guests, Deo Niyizonkiza and Jeff Kaplan, engaged the group in an interesting conversation.

Deo founded Village Health Works, a grassroots nonprofit organization that provides quality and dignified health care in rural Burundi, East Africa. Having survived a civil war and genocide in Burundi, Deo spoke of his journey arriving in New York in 1994 with minimal resources and making his way through Columbia University, Harvard University’s School of Public Health and eventually Dartmouth Medical School. He has made his life’s mission to help those in his native Burundi gain access to health care. Jeff Kaplan, a partner at Deerfield, a healthcare-focused investment organization and Firm client, has spearheaded the Deerfield Foundation, which supports healthcare initiatives for underserved communities. In addition, he co-founded and serves on the Boards of The Water Trust, an NGO focused on clean water, sanitation and hygiene in rural Uganda.

Deo and Jeff shared their personal stories and involvement on the ground in Africa and why the vision of health, hope and decency are the driving forces to making a difference. They described the atrocities and poverty many people face today, the multitude of challenges and obstacles in building new infrastructure and how far they have come. In the last decade, Village Health Works has grown exponentially with 300 staff members serving an area with 200,000 people. In the past year, a hydroelectric plant has been built and the construction of a 120-bed hospital to address maternal and child health is in the works.

The event concluded with a very simple, yet resonant message: Don’t assume that you can’t make a difference. Deo and Jeff encouraged each person in the room to use their skills to support their important cause.