An intrepid group of seven Explorer Scouts from the Newbury and Kennet district have just returned from a successful trip to Uganda where they spent 18 days helping to build and refurbish schools in Butagaya and Iwololo. The project was undertaken in partnership with charity Soft Power Education, which works with communities in Uganda to improve their quality of life through education.

Distrust in how best to strategize global development aid works in both directions. Engaging faith-based organizations has historically been met with skepticism from secular aid organizations. [...] “Inter-religious organizations and leaders can help donors overcome these challenges by active engagement as cultural brokers and guides.”

This month, President Obama is in Africa reaching out to the approximately 200 million people on the continent between the ages of 15 and 24. The United States is strengthening ties with this dynamic and fast-growing region, embracing what the President has described as “a new era of engagement, based on mutual interests and mutual respect…to advance the common security and prosperity of all people.”

The Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles this week is extraordinary in its multifaceted reach. The Opening Ceremonies in front of 65,000 people in the Coliseum and on ESPN on Saturday was number one on Facebook. The competitions have been drawing full houses and an international television audience for the first time. Moreover, the lives of the athletes have been changed in ways no other sports competition achieves.

This weekend in Kenya was set to be the first time the annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit -- co-hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama -- would be held in sub-Saharan Africa, where business owners, policymakers, educators and investors would all be brought together in a developing region that has seen immense economic growth in recent years but still suffers from severe poverty and unemployment.

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel travels to Nairobi, Kenya July 23-26 as part of President Obama’s delegation for the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit. While in Nairobi, Under Secretary Stengel will co-host the Summit’s Youth and Women Day.

George Clooney, the Hollywood actor, has launched a new initiative called The Sentry aimed at ending conflicts on the African continent by tracking the money that fuels them. The Sentry, founded by Clooney and John Prendergast from the advocacy group the Enough Project, will investigate the financing of conflicts in South Sudan, Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Data are about much more than a collection of facts and figures; they enable us to do more with each dollar we invest -- reaching more individuals, families, and communities with life-saving care and support services. This week, at the Financing for Development Conference, PEPFAR was proud to build on this commitment and introduce new ways we are using and sharing data to achieve an AIDS-free generation.