I had been in Africa for eight days, searching for Revocat—the young boy who inspired Roadmap for Help. I first met him in 2017 when he appeared at the village gate, barefoot, carrying firewood for his mother, and wearing pants tied with string. That image stayed with me.

Fast forward years later, and nothing—not volcanoes, earthquakes, wars, or pandemics—moved me as much as seeing Revocat again. He’d grown up, become calm and articulate. By then, he was speaking English fluently and even told me he aspired to be a manager, not an IT expert as he once dreamed.

When I teased, “Who will guide me then?” he laughed and explained: a manager is someone who buys goats, cows, beans, rice… and feeds children. I smiled in awe—“That works,” I said.

Then he whispered something that pierced my heart: “They stole my soap at school.”

I couldn’t tell if I should laugh or cry. When he looked at me and asked if I was upset, I hugged him and promised, “Listen, my manager… we’re going to buy a truckload of soap. We will buy all the soap in the world. All the children will be clean and well—don’t worry.” He asked how we’d pay for it, and I replied, “Well, are we managers or not? And first, we’ll buy from you.”

That was all he wanted: a day together—and a bar of soap. Nothing more.