Stateside

Whew, I’m jet lagged, yet as excited as ever - Vicky and I just got back to Kenya after an amazing trip around the USA.  When we started this phase back in February, one of the foundations that provide the funding for our project offered to hold a Convening for us in Seattle in late March.  The very fact that they offered to host a Convening is a big deal - I wasn’t aware, but apparently Convenings are held for big initiatives that they think will become major implementations - it’s a way to get key experts and project stakeholders together to discuss the progress made to date and agree on the path forward.  For Vicky and me, it was a chance to bounce all the ideas we’ve been working on since November against some really great brains/experts in this sector, and continue to build on the momentum that has become the WIND project.  Another neat aspect was that the foundation also flew in some of our key Kenyan stakeholders - it was a great way for them to get to experience some of my culture, since I’ve been living in theirs for the past five months.  It was good to play “hostess” for them - a little bit odd, as I could see many of them were way out of their comfort zones -  makes me realize how much of a “fish out of water” I was when I first came to Kenya!  The Convening went very well - there were definitely some contentious parts, as there are things that some of these partners fundamentally disagree on, but by the end, everyone in the room had optimism that we can come to a model and solution that is going to be beneficial for everyone.

We were away from Kenya for a total of 10 days - we first stopped in NYC to do a presentation on our project to one of our other donors.  We got to spend the weekend in the city - I took the opportunity to watch a LOT of college basketball and catch up with some friends.  Then it was off to Seattle and the Convening - it was my first time to Seattle, and I’ll definitely be going back!  I didn’t get to experience much of the city (we spent most of the time working), but I enjoyed what I did see and I also appreciated the opportunity to meet some of our project sponsors face to face (it might sound strange, but most of these folks we’ve only worked with remotely up until now, so in my mind, they were headless voices coming from a speakerphone!).  After the Convening, I got a few days “leave” in Dallas, which was great.  Being far away makes me really appreciate the time that I do get to spend with my family and friends.  There’s nothing like going home.  Then it was back to Nairobi via Heathrow - and of course, I bumped into Miss Vicky Easterbrook in the security line - she was looking a bit flustered, as she had overslept (by this time it was Sunday morning in the UK) and just barely made it to the airport for our flight!  Thereafter began our quest to find her a shower in the BA lounge - the hijinks never seem to end with the two of us.

We’re back now and staring down the belly of a very busy week - the trip was amazing, and we gained so much good input, but as is often the case when traveling and in meetings, not much actual work gets done, so we have a bit to catch up on.  But, I’m feeling recharged and encouraged by all the positive feedback we received, and am ready to put pen to paper!