My home in Kisumu

Lunch ladies at TICH

Settling into Kisumu

We arrived in Kisumu on Sunday afternoon, following a 5 1/2 hour bus trip from Nairobi via the Rift Valley. The road wasn't all that smooth but that's part of the adventure. We also saw zebras and baboons which is also part of the adventure.

TICH's leadership strategy session started on Monday morning. I was going to make a good first impression by wearing a tie, but it was so hot I went slightly more casual which proved to be appropriate. I was quite impressed with the calibre of individuals I was dealing with as most are academics and/or medical doctors. They were certainly a friendly bunch and they enjoyed my attempt at speaking k-swihili during the morning introductions. Fortunately, the meeting was held entirely in English so I got a surprisingly lot out of it.

Cindi (my house-mate from Atlanta who will be providing
marketing/communications expertise to TICH) and I were then given 1 and 1/2 days to get settled in. This included buying a gas burner to cook on, plates, pots, linen, etc. As much as I don't enjoy shopping it was somewhat entertaining doing this in such an unusual environment. It is a bit strange having just met someday and then trying to agree on what colour scheme our kitchen will be (fortunately, neither of us really give a hoot). The place is pretty barren, but its secure and has electricity, running water (but not heated) and a western toilet. We were provided with beds, misquito nets and a kitchen table and 4 chairs. We're currently using an old mattress as our living room couch. Our only outstanding big investments are expected to be a mini-fridge and a one-speed bicycle.

Today was our first day at the institute. It is a small campus with about 40 full-time staff. Chaple session started at 10:00 am and its pretty hard to skip when its the lead-in to the coffee break. I've had more church time this past week since my pre-teen years. I'm even starting to sing along with the hymns. As I learned at the strategy session, one of the major variables for the school to become a university is whether God is willing (or if they are prepared to brib the Ministry).

Finally, I should mention that its really hot. Even the locals are complaining and somebody today said that they thought it was 36 degrees. I am sweating myself to sleep and quite enjoying the cool showers. We broke into groups to discuss strategic items and my colleagues were so fatigued from the heat that Cindi and I carried the discussion and I made the presentation to the group. Kind of funny to think I was discussing issues facing an Institution that I hadn't yet visited. Although what I'm is that there are more similarities in the work environment here than differences.

Greetings from Nairobi

The past ten days since leaving Vancouver has been a blur. The marathon trip to Nairobi via London was a bit gruelling and it was nice to overnight in London in order to rest-up for the second leg of the trip. As the sun rose during my flight to Nairobi and I got my first look at sub-suharan Africa and even a good view of Kilimanjaro. Wow, I'm really here!

We were picked-up at the airport by VSO representatives. There were six in our party: Frank, Tom and Heidi from Holland, Cindi from the U.S and Hilary from the U.K. I had gotten to know all but Hilary at the training at Birmingham so it was great to hook-up with them again. We were later joined for our one-week in-country training with 3 folks from the Philipines, and others from India, Uganda and the U.S. The training was quite good and the lessons in K-Swihili were a lot of fun.

I haven't seen all that much of Nairobi as our training has been held at the hotel we're staying at out in the suburbs. We did one afternoon trip into the city centre for a bit of a look around. Ironically, I have bought a cell phone which is funny since I managed to live without one at home. I'm looking forward to leaving for Kisumu tomorrow as I'll be able to see some of the countryside during our six-hour bus trip. It will also be nice to get settled into my new home and stop living out of a backpack.

The timing of my arrival at The Tropical Institute of Health & Development is perfect as on Monday I'll be able to attend a two-day senior leaders strategy session, involving the college's trustees and senior management team. Everything that I've heard about the college has been positive and I've been able to read some research material on health and development issues. I think I'm going to learn a lot.

The people I've met so far have been really nice. Its mostly been people who work for VSO Kenya or with the employers who will be taking on volunteers. However, what I've noticed about people in general is that they are happy to let you be and you don't attract a whole lot of attention which is nice. I'm told it might be a bit different once I get out of Nairobi. People certainly seem to be more expressive and love to laugh. This is my kind of crowd.

Friends and Kisumu town

Departure Day

The adventure is about to begin. Tonight I fly to London and after a 1 1/2 day lay-over I will depart for Nairbobi, Kenya. Holy smokes! Its starting to dawn on me that something big is happening. The past 3 weeks have been a blur of activity, getting organized to depart, see friends & family plus accomplishing what I could at work. That's all behind me now. Africa, ready or not, here I come.

Paul the house-boy