In Bujumbura I had ideas and no one to test them against. I could read about people building things elsewhere, but I had never sat across from someone who had actually done it. That distance was the hardest part.
Future Forge closed that distance. My fellowship paired me with a mentor who had shipped real products, and for the first time my questions got specific, honest answers. Not encouragement. Answers.
What proximity gave me
I stopped guessing. I learned how to scope a project down to something I could finish, how to ask for feedback early, and how to keep going when the first version did not work. I now run a small peer group in Bujumbura, passing on the same access I was given.
“I did not need charity. I needed to stand close to people who had already done the thing.”
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