The Impact Journal
A platform dedicated to amplifying voices, sharing powerful stories, and documenting the transformative journeys of communities across the globe. Our journal explores the intersection of culture, innovation, advocacy, and social impact through compelling articles, interviews, visual narratives, and case studies.
This space is designed especially for the culturally curious traveler — the ones who seek not just to see, but to understand, engage, and honor the communities they visit. Whether you're a solo explorer looking to connect with new cultures, or part of a group eager to make a positive impact, you’ll find the tools, insight, and inspiration to create journeys that truly matter.
At LABUSA Travel, we believe that travel isn’t just about the places you go — it’s about the stories you carry home, the relationships you build, and the purpose that moves you. Here, you’re not just planning a trip. You’re shaping an experience that leaves the world — and yourself — a little better than before.
Africa
Kenya - A Love Letter from the Red Soil
By Agnes Irungu
This reflective narrative is a tribute to a rural Kenyan childhood rooted in nature, community, and tradition, where joy is found in simple rituals like fetching river water, sharing meals under open skies, and dancing to cultural songs. It invites readers to witness the beauty of slow, grounded living and the deep identity formed through connection with land and tradition. [Read More]
Uganda - A Raw Encounter in Bwindi's Jungle
By Agnes Irungu
You’ve heard the stories. You’ve seen the pictures. But nothing prepares you for the moment you stand in the middle of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, the mist swirling around you, and come face-to-face with a silverback gorilla. The jungle feels like it’s holding its breath. [Read More]
Answering Africa’s Call
By Agnes Irungu
Despite never having left my country, I’ve always had a connection to Africa; for you it might just be a dot on the map, but for me it’s a place where my roots lie. While growing up in the diaspora, I constantly fantasized about the day I could come back and live out my childhood dreams. [Read More]
In Kenya’s Diversity, We Find Unity
By Agnes Irungu
I grew up in rural Kenya, where you spoke your mother tongue Kikuyu, for me. It’s what we spoke at home, in the market, everywhere. Swahili? It was something we learned for exams, nothing more. English? Only for when a visitor came around. Life was simple, everyone spoke the same language, lived the same way. [Read More]
Kenya - Malindi Felt Like Slowing Down
By Agnes Irungu
The first time I went to Malindi, I didn’t even know what I was looking for. I just wanted peace. The moment I arrived, everything felt different. The breeze was warm, people looked relaxed, and the ocean moved like it had all the time in the world. [Read More]
Kenya - More Than Just Shoes
By Agnes Irungu
I grew up in rural central Kenya, in a small village in Murang’a County. Shoes were a luxury for most of us. If you had a pair, they were probably hand-me-downs from a cousin in the city; worn out or too big, but you wore them like they were gold because they meant someone remembered you. [Read More]
Kenya - The Water Still Falls
By Agnes Irungu
I grew up in an area where nature was not considered a destination but a way of life. The river lulled us to sleep. The trees gave us some secrets as we sauntered to the shamba. We lived among the hills, valleys and birdcalls. [Read More]
Kenya - Where Giraffes Greet and Forests Whisper
By Agnes Irungu
I still remember the first time I stepped into Nairobi. The moment I got off the matatu, everything hit me at once the honking, the shouting, the rush of bodies moving in every direction. The city felt alive and overwhelming, a far cry from the quiet I was used to. But even in that chaos, something inside me stirred, curiosity, maybe even excitement. [Read More]
Kenya - Where the Mountain Watches You
By Agnes Irungu
Long before I ever got close to it, Mount Kenya was already part of my life. Back then, we didn’t see it as a place people visited. It was just there quiet, tall, watching us. On clear mornings, when I went to fetch firewood or walked to the shamba, I’d stop and look at it. Its white peak hanging above the clouds. [Read More]
Experience the Spirit of Ghana at the Chale Wote Street Art Festival
By Deborah Dankyi
Each year in the coastal neighborhood of Jamestown, Accra's centuries-old walls begin to whisper, then shout with color, sound, and stories. One moment it's an ordinary fishing district; the next, it's the beating heart of Africa's most electric street festival: Chale Wote. [Read More]
Exploring Ghana Through New Eyes
By Deborah Dankyi
Travel has a unique way of shifting perspectives. As a Ghanaian, I thought I knew my country well. Its cities, culture, cuisine, and historic sites. But it wasn’t until I traveled alongside a group of African American visitors that I saw Ghana through an entirely new lens filled with emotion, discovery, and a deep connection to ancestry and culture. [Read More]
North America
Always Prepare for Tight Layovers – A Lesson from My First Trip to the U.S.
By Deborah Dankyi
Traveling internationally can be exciting, but it also comes with its fair share of surprises. I learned this firsthand during my very first trip to the United States from Ghana, accompanied by a colleague who had made the journey before. [Read More]
United States - Why You Should Always Carry Your Travel Documents
By Deborah Dankyi
Traveling to a new country can be exciting, eye-opening, and filled with unexpected lessons, sometimes learned in the most casual settings. One of the most valuable travel tips I ever received came not from a guidebook, but from a frozen margarita and a friendly bartender at a local pub in Manvel, Texas. [Read More]