Friday, July 31, 2009
I can barely throw my thoughts together. It’s our last night in Kenya, and we’ve just wrapped up an intense and amazing dinner. I was joined by Joshua Wanyama, a Kenyan entrepreneur and blogger, as well as a TED Fellow; Nyokabi Musila, also a blogger, with an interest in public health; Anzetse Were, Program Director for Allavida and author of “Drivers of Violence;” Sejo, whose last name and occupation I missed; Laura Dimon; Tyler Denton and Maura Daley, which led to plenty of interesting discussions - most of which I am still trying to wrap my head around.
Our conversations ranged from what I thought about aid from developed countries to African countries, to how NGOs work in Kenya. We discussed women, and how they are actually becoming more empowered in Kenya than men, because men are no longer considered the head of households or the breadwinner because the women do a lot of the work. I shared with Anzetse the biggest revelation I have had on this trip: not all aid is good aid. It’s not all as sufficient as we might think it is, and it isn’t necessarily that the aid isn’t getting to people because of corrupt governments, it’s that the aid developed countries are giving to countries like Kenya either isn’t enough, so they can’t get ahead, or it isn’t the aid they need, in the right area.
In all honesty, the conversation was pretty intimidating for me. When I’m on my campus or at home I feel like I know a lot, but next to the amazing Kenyans I was sitting with, I felt as if I knew nothing. I don’t think I’ve had that much trouble jumping into a conversation in a long time.
All in all, this trip has been amazing. When I arrive home and have had time to wrap my head around everything, you will hear from me again. Until then, thanks for reading.
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