“Rebuilding Broken Communities”

Bright Light Projects (BLP) was founded in 2012 through a musical solidarity collaboration, Houston Against Violence,” written and directed by Jerry Cleo (DJ SKEEPEER). Emerging amid the Boko Haram attacks in Africa and the Boston Marathon Bombing, this project, endorsed by Houston Mayor Annise Parker, united 28 artists from 25 countries to denounce violence and champion peace. Through the power of music, BLP harnessed creativity to spark social change and lay the groundwork for sustainable development.

In 2015, BLP organized the first diaspora-led response to the West African Ebola crisis, hosting the Concert for Ebola Relief in Maryland on October 3. Rallying artists, diplomats, and friends of Africa, we raised funds for Doctors Without Borders and the International Medical Corps, proving music’s role as a catalyst for Humanitarian Action. In 2017, BLP deepened its commitment with the Africa for Ebola Orphans album, a four-country collaboration (Cameroon, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone) amplifying the voices of over 12,000 Ebola orphans. The 2017 Africa for Ebola Orphans Concert in Freetown, Sierra Leone, led by Executive Director Franco Bonghan, brought social therapy through music to five communities, healing survivors and orphans alike. From these roots, BLP has evolved into a dynamic force for sustainable development, expanding beyond music to address pressing global challenges rooted in local action and grassroots mobilization within the core elements of sustainability: economic growth, Social inclusion, and Environmental protection. Today, we empower vulnerable communities in Sub-Saharan Africa and the United States through strategic partnerships with a methodology that emphasizes direct support, continuous evaluation and monitoring, capacity building, and entrepreneurship. We work towards long-term solutions that outlast our interventions, creating transformative impact for our beneficiaries. 

Our projects emphasize local community engagement as a roadmap for shared prosperity. Our programs, such as the Mend the Gap Schooling Program for vulnerable Ebola Orphans and survivors, have seen wide success since 2016. Other projects, such as Girls Shall Rise, Young Men Entrepreneurship, Reforestation Hope, Trees for Food, Adolescent Youth Leadership and Mentorship + STEM, Village Savings and Loan Initiative for rural women, Our Environment, Our Future, are all geared towards building economic, social, and environmental resilience in the most vulnerable communities. 

In 2021, BLP was granted Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in recognition of our valuable contributions to the UN’s core pillars of Peace and Security, Human Rights, economic development, and International Cooperation

At our core, BLP offers a hand-up, not a hand-out. By fostering skills development, entrepreneurship, and capacity building, we empower beneficiaries to become self-reliant leaders driving lasting impact in their communities. From music’s unifying call in 2012 to today’s holistic programs emphasizing transformative change. BLP remains committed to creating shared prosperity, advocating against energy poverty and Food sovereignty, one soul, one community, one song, one tree at a time.