Crossing the Threshold
Writing as Pilgrimage in East Africa
A Writers’ Retreat by the Global Livingston Institute & Valley Haggard
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A Writers’ Retreat by the Global Livingston Institute & Valley Haggard
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A Writers’ Retreat by the Global Livingston Institute & Valley Haggard ~ A Writers’ Retreat by the Global Livingston Institute & Valley Haggard ~
This writers’ retreat takes travelers on a transformative, culturally immersive journey through Rwanda and Uganda.
Writers will connect with local communities and reflect on global issues while channeling their creativity and transforming experience into story. All program logistics will be managed by the Global Livingston Institute (GLI), a non-profit travel operator with 15+ years of experience in East Africa; writing sessions will be led by Valley Haggard with GLI support.
Travelers will start their journey in Kigali, Rwanda before traveling to the stunning shores of Lake Bunyonyi in Southwest Uganda and spending four days at Entusi, a tranquil retreat center designed for reflection and connection.
This peaceful lakeside center is immersed in nature, only accessible by boat, and recently renovated as a setting for intercultural and creative convenings. Travelers will visit Musanze, Rwanda, before returning to Kigali and flying home.
This retreat invites participants to explore travel not just as movement across land, but as a crossing into deeper layers of self, culture, and human connection. Through reflective writing and guided contemplations, participants explore how encounters with new landscapes and communities awaken inner thresholds long waiting to be crossed. Using the lens of pilgrimage and cross-cultural experience, writers trace the moments that shift them — a conversation, a vista, a ritual, an unexpected kindness — and learn to transform these encounters into meaningful narrative. Participants leave with a sense of how travel expands consciousness, dissolves inner borders, and reveals the shared mythic threads of the human story.
Writing Guide
Valley Haggard is an award-winning writer, teacher, and creative guide whose work weaves storytelling, healing, and spiritual transformation.
Founder of Writing Fire, she has spent more than twenty years helping people turn lived experience into art—leading local and international workshops, retreats, and sacred circles.
Her approach blends memoir, intuitive writing, energy work, and modern mysticism, inviting participants to access their inner wisdom and write with courage, clarity, and soul. Valley is the author of The Halfway House for Writers, Surrender Your Weapons: Writing to Heal, and The Sacred Circle Writing Oracle.
We're partnering with Intrepid Times, a leading publisher of narrative travel writing with heart, to provide a platform for our travelers to tell the story of their journey. Trip participants will have the chance to submit work from the retreat to Intrepid Times for priority publication consideration; an exciting opportunity to see your name and story published and leave an enduring record of your experience.
Program Locations & Itinerary Overview
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Kigali, Rwanda: Writers will fly into Kigali - one of Africa’s cleanest and safest cities - and spend their first few days exploring Rwanda’s capital and learning about the country’s remarkable post-genocide recovery, healing, and resilience.
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Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda: Writers will dive into their work at Entusi, spending mornings in structured writing sessions and afternoons engaging with the local community.
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Musanze, Rwanda: Writers will engage with Rwanda’s conservation initiatives and connect with the local community in Musanze, a beautiful town situated at the foot of Volcanoes National Park.
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Kigali, Rwanda: Writers will end their trip in Rwanda’s capital for a final day of reflection and souvenir shopping before traveling home.
Program Itinerary *
* Please note that details are subject to change based on availability, trip leader discretion, and final number of travelers.
Testimonials
See what people are saying about Valley Haggard and GLI?
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Fees
The cost for the trip is $3,350 (private room), or $2,950 (shared room).*
Fee includes all in-country costs & coordination: meals, accommodations, transport (including in-country airport transfers), and activities except for optional gorilla trekking (+ minimum $800 per permit) and golden monkey trekking (+$100 per permit). The fee also includes GLI’s pre-departure orientation software and preparation, and ongoing security and risk management support.
Fee does not include airfare, visa/other entry-related costs, insurance, alcoholic beverages, and personal expenses including vaccinations and valid passports.
A non-refundable $1,250 deposit will be due March 21st to reserve your spot. Deposit invoices will be issued upon registration; remaining balances will be due May 31st. Payment plans available upon request.
*Please note that prices are applicable for a minimum of 10 travelers; shared room pricing subject to availability.
Questions?
Please contact lia@globallivingston.org and valley@valleyhaggard.com. Or book a 20-minute discovery call here; sign up for our informational webinar on February 13, 2026 here!
FAQ
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This retreat is for the curious and open-hearted—no writing experience required. Writing is used as a reflective tool for presence, meaning, and integration, not as a performance or product to perfect. Through travel, cultural exchange, and guided reflection, participants explore how new landscapes and encounters awaken a deeper understanding of self and shared humanity. This experience welcomes anyone drawn to pilgrimage, personal insight, and learning through lived experience.
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GLI partners with Aventel, an international security firm, to ensure all program locations are safe for travelers and continually monitored for the duration of our trips. All drivers contracted by GLI are trusted and vetted GLI partners. Selected accommodations are located in safe areas, also trusted and vetted GLI partners.
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GLI selects clean, comfortable, and highly rated accommodations with a track record of success among our travelers. Included meals feature a variety of local and familiar dishes and non-alcoholic beverages.
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GLI is an international education and community development organization driven by the mission to develop ethical, globally-minded leaders through cross-cultural learning and partnership between the U.S. and Africa. GLI designs and implements immersive trips to Uganda and Rwanda that enable Americans to engage meaningfully with local communities, professionals, and peers, and bring global engagement to African communities. Since 2009, GLI has taken over 3,500 travelers on transformative, community-based experiences in East Africa. GLI aims to empower impactful action, foster empathy with diverse global perspectives, and inspire the next generation of global leaders to reimagine a global system rooted in fairness, equality, and mutual respect.
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All GLI travelers are enrolled in our online pre-departure curriculum, which familiarizes travelers with Rwanda, Uganda, and GLI, and covers essential pre-departure health, safety, and logistical information. Our team reviews travel documents to ensure smooth travels and collects flight information, dietary needs, medical needs, and emergency contacts to provide holistic support throughout each program. We host at least one live pre-departure zoom orientation and distribute a pre-departure guide with essential travel information including packing, health, and safety recommendations.
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A yellow fever vaccine is required for entry to Uganda; other medications (such as malaria prophylaxis) and additional vaccines may be recommended by your doctor or travel health specialist. An East Africa Tourist Visa ($100) is also required for travel to Uganda and Rwanda. Roundtrip airfare typically costs $1,500-$2,000. Passports must be valid for at least six months after your date of arrival in East Africa. GLI also recommends that travelers purchase insurance covering health/medical expenses and unexpected events like trip cancellation, flight delay expenses, lost baggage, and emergency situations. Gorilla trekking requires at least an additional $800 permit, and golden monkey trekking requires an additional $100 permit.