It was supposed to be the dry season! But mud from the previous day’s heavy rain sucked the wheels of our bus into deep ruts, so the board members of Bridges to Prosperity, attending the June 28 dedication of the Gasyogogo footbridge between Kinihira and Mwendo sectors in Rwanda, joined the walking world for the last leg of the journey to celebrate the bridge opening with the communities being served.

Bridges to Prosperity (B2P) works to alleviate poverty caused by rural isolation by building footbridges across rivers that flood in the wet season—keeping communities connected to jobs, markets, schools and health care. I’ve been on the board of directors since 2015, and this was the second bridge opening I attended. The previous one, in Bolivia at 11,500 ft, involved a challenging descent down a dirt path with a 700-ft vertical drop—and a breath-gasping climb back out.