Fika

Fika and Helmsley Charitable Trust Announce $11.9 Million Grant to Expand Rural Connectivity in Ethiopia Investment will connect an estimated 9 million Ethiopians to schools, clinics, and markets and advance a long-term, government-owned rural access program. Fika (formerly Bridges to Prosperity) and The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust announced an $11.9 million […]

Last week, Fika joined changemakers, innovators, and systems thinkers from around the world in Oxford for the 2026 Skoll World Forum. We hosted four sessions and a social with The Sidebar and came away with full hearts and a lot to think about. Below, you'll find video recordings from each session.

To mark 25 years, we asked some of those people to write a love letter. Not to the organization. Not to the mission. But to every single person who has ever crossed one of our bridges.

Fika Uganda was honored to host the Environmental and Safeguards Team from the Ministry of Works and Transport for a field visit to our trail bridge projects along the Namafumba–Budadiri Road Corridor, financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The visit created an important opportunity to demonstrate how Fika’s work aligns with the African Development […]

Why Rural Transport Needs a Network Revolution A new peer-reviewed paper by Fika’s Brooke Segerberg and Abbie Noriega, published this week in Sustainability, makes a compelling case for rethinking how the world plans rural transport infrastructure. The problem Most rural transport planning focuses on roads. But in much of rural Africa, over 80% of trips […]

One farmer’s story traces how it happened When the rainy season settles over the Kasenga and Kasisi communities in Chongwe District, the Kasenga River becomes a barrier. For nearly three months each year, rising water cuts off thousands of residents from school, health services, and the market routes they depend on. Among those most affected […]

In 2024, a delegation from Tanzania visited a few trailbridges built under Fika’s program in partnership with the government of Rwanda. Last week, more than a hundred development leaders from 25 countries stood together on a suspension bridge in Gakenke, Rwanda, in an unprecedented moment of cross-jurisdictional learning and exchange.

Prioritize. Fund. Deliver: Highlights from the Fika Global Gathering 2026 The sun rose over Musanze, painting the hills in gold, as teams from across Fika gathered to connect, reflect, and recommit to advancing rural access alongside the governments and communities that lead it. For four days, the Global Gathering was not about schedules or checklists. […]

Who Fika Is Now From bridges → to rural access systems. Fika has evolved from a bridge-building implementer into a systems catalyst for safe, reliable rural transport access, supporting governments to plan, finance, deliver, and sustain national rural access networks. This includes bridges plus complementary infrastructure (paths, road improvements, climate-smart features) that reduce travel time […]