In his 2015 encyclical letter, Laudato Si', Pope Francis wrote that the world is "faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental." BLI recognizes this, its founders having seen both the social and environmental degradation that was taking place in the rural areas of Uganda. As the natural environment collapsed from war, deforestation, and the burning of fossil fuels so did the area's social fabric, as young people fled to the big city, often the Kampala slums, desperate to find work.

As BLI works to restore the ecosystem, therefore, BLI focuses on the whole ecosystem: the social and environmental fabrics alike. This means focusing not only on planting trees or restoring the soil but also on inviting the community to take part in all of BLI's activities, calling home individuals who have previously left, and ensuring rural people have access to the food and resources they need to live healthily in the villages.

Watch the video below to see some of our current efforts. And, read more here.