What's Next?

We've been home for almost two months and life in the Valley is beginning to feel familiar. We've given a couple of presentations to the community, schools and Rotary Groups. It is becoming increasingly clear is that this thing is so much bigger than we are. In our two months in Kenya we were introduced to a myriad of projects -- all worthy, all vital and all in need of support. How do we choose just one? I feel like we need to choose a focus so we can spread hope, not overwhelm.

Water. Sanitation. Leadership. Education. Children. Micro-credit. Fish Farming. Widows. Orphans. Women. AIDS. Urban Development. Goats. Rural... and on and on and on.

I sat down in my favourite coffee shop today to work on my to-do list and set my week up. Someone from across the restaurant said, "Hey, I want to talk to you. She's the one who went to Kenya." Gotta love a small town. So, I chatted with Zac Whyte, a video journalist from Courtenay (visit http://occupationhuman.org and http://connectingwithkenya.com). His bio states, "Zac is passionate about international development and helping people find their individual power to positively affect the world around them." ME TOO! Though I'm on the seeking side of my individual power to positively affect the world around me.

We shared some stories about flat tires and corruption and singing and hope and how we in the West with our big hearts and deep pockets can really make a mess of things if we're not careful. Below is an excerpt from "When the Crocodile Bites the Sun, A Memoir of Africa,"

"It's always instructive to observe the life cycle of the First World aid worker. A wary enthusiasm blooms into an almost messianic sense of what might be possible. Then, as they bump up against the local cultural limits of acceptable change, comes the inevitable disappointment... Even those who have learned the language and done thorough research, often have their faith eroded by the vagaries of Africa, which can start to look horribly like irrationality to the northern eye."

Ah, the wary enthusiasm. I still remember standing in Staples, heart pounding, purchasing boxes of pencils and pens to bring to schools along with soccer balls. I was pretty wide eyed then. Still am, but now it is mixed with just a smidgen of experience that tells me that nothing is as simple as it seems.

Again, from "When a Crocodile Bites the Sun,"

"I feel like weeping. Weeping at the way Africa does this to you. Just as you're about to dismiss it and walk away, it delivers something so unexpected, so tender. One minute you're scared shitless, and the next you're choked with affection."

So, here I am. Kenya has seared my heart. And I'm scared... of what, I'm not quite sure... Maybe of not doing enough. Now that I've seen what I've seen, I'll never unsee it.

O.K., what's next? Focus. KASFOOC (Kakamega Supporting Families of Orphaned Children) will be our signature project through Terry's Rotary connection. And me... I'm working on my message. "I can't do everything, but I can do something" keeps ringing in my ears. I'll see what unfolds from there. Thanks for coming along with me as I sort all this out.