On Friday night, I landed in Dubai, temporarily saying goodbye to Kenya and Africa. I still cant believe that 4 months have passed. I have been so fortunate to have this experience, and I am so grateful to you all. In this relatively small amount of time I have been taught, moved, changed, and feel more prepared for the work I plan to do in my life.
My experience in Kenya was full of ups and downs. From the frustrations of inefficiency and corruption to the beautiful children and loving friends, I have been given life lessons that have shaped my understanding for the world, myself and others. I am working on compiling these lessons into a list, as I never want to forget, and I want to share the experience with all of you who helped me get there, with donations, kind words, and late night pep talks. I hope to post this personal and eternally incomplete list soon. I also want to apologize that the posts became less frequent as time went on. The longer I lived in Kenya, the more the daily events just became part of life, and it became harder and harder for me to write. Not just here but for myself as well. My journal has gaping holes that I hope my memory of the day to day experience will fill, and I hope will be shared through conversation and story as the years go on.
The hardest part of leaving was saying my goodbye’s to Kibera and the people I worked with. In the final hours, I sat down with Kenny, who is now going to be working on the Jamii ya Kibera project with one less partner, and we wrote out the plan for the coming year. We reflected on our successes and our challenges, and talked about achieving our goals in 2009. The ideas were abundant and the hopes are high. Afterwards my coworkers and I all headed out to get tea together, and say goodbye without really saying goodbye. Kwa Heri Kenya. Until the next time…
