MARAAA!!!

Tomorrow Jane and I are heading out over some very bumpy roads to the wonderland known as the Masai Mara!  We are going to spend the weekend at a volunteer project run by ACTS in the Naboisho conservancy, adjacent to the Mara Reserve (where all the tourists go).  Basically, that means we get the same animals and less rules for WAY cheaper...can't complain about that! 

Please pray for safety as we drive over some crazy roads and interact at close range with sweet (but apparently dangerous) animals.  Also, pray that I don't do anything stupid around said animals...the temptation is so strong.  Hopefully we'll come back with some more stories and pictures of guys like this one:

CFA Email Updates

One part of my job that has developed quite a bit over the past six months consists of updating donors on the progress of the CFA centers that they support.  Our goal is to send out email updates every three months or so, which means that (at this point) I put together two or three updates each month.  It's an interesting opportunity to apply some of my "artistic" side, in addition to being a great chance to investigate the great things that are happening in each center.  I usually interview the workers to get some quotes and statistics, scour the monthly reports for stories, take some pictures or commission them from the regional coordinators, and then try to combine all of these things into an encouraging and aesthetically-pleasing format.  Here's a recent update that describes the graduation of the first group of clients from the Gachie center - praise God for the great things He is doing!

Gachie Graduation Update

Numbers vs. Change

I ran across a really interesting article from the Harvard Business Review about, among other things, the criteria that people look for in choosing which organizations in the humanitarian sector warrant their charitable contributions.  It seems to be an overriding trend that the average American is much more interested in a low overhead percentage than in actual, demonstrated results from a non-profit.  In one study cited in the article, 79% of respondents reported that they wouldn't give money to a cause without knowing how much goes to overhead/administration, while only 6% said they needed to know if their money was going to make a difference.  

That's REALLY frustrating for me!  As one of the people working in the humanitarian/non-profit/whatever sector, I've experienced firsthand the intrinsic difficulties caused by an obsessive focus on showing off a pie chart with a little tiny sliver labeled "administration" and the rest proudly marked "project costs" or something like that.  The problem is that this system doesn't reflect the positive change that is resulting from an organization's work.  I've seen many groups that are just giving away things to people in need...helping them for a day but hurting them for the rest of their lives and creating absolutely zero long-term benefit for the individuals, their families, or their societies.  Many times this even creates a negative overall impact by cultivating an attitude of dependence, hampering local businesses, and stifling the development of skills.  BUT it looks great in a pie chart.  

If you don't pay anyone to teach people or monitor their progress, you can get a lot of volunteers to hand out things and make themselves feel good.  If you don't put any effort or spending into researching needs and evaluating results, then all of your money can go into whatever short-lived "thing" you decide from the other side of the ocean to throw at people.  If you don't hire locals as real employees and give them the benefits they deserve, then you won't have much admin cost.  You'll have an awesome pie chart and you'll probably get a lot of money thrown at you from innocent Americans, but you won't be doing any good.

It's a struggle for me to see organizations doing this while we try to run CARE for AIDS with an ultimate goal of producing actual change.  This means that we do buy computers to track the progress of our clients and analyze our results.  It means that we do give our employees benefits like social security, health insurance, and ongoing training seminars to make them effective in their jobs and equip them for the rest of their lives.  It means that we spend money on professional teachers and trainers to help our clients learn skills, not only collect handouts.  It even means that we pay for quality marketing materials and professional financial advising in the States, because we view them as a long-term investment in our ability to reach more people here in Africa.  All of this adds up to more than just a sliver on our pie chart, but it contributes to the real, sustained, long-term change that is taking place in the lives of the clients we serve, the futures of the Kenyans we employ, the health of the churches we partner with, and the reality of the AIDS crisis all across Kenya.

And I'm much more proud of THAT than a pie chart.  

ps - here is the article mentioned

Ongoing one-on-one training and counseling means more 

spending on salaries/benefits and less spending on handouts, 

but it actually makes a difference!  

Crazy Weather

The weather here in Limuru has gone CRAZY the last couple of days!  First there were a few random rain showers, which is unusual because this is usually the driest and hottest time of the year.  Then, yesterday we had an insane hail storm.  Out of nowhere, I started hearing hailstones hitting the roof of our office, and within seconds we could hardly see out the windows.  Marble-sized hail was bouncing around all over the place and producing an almost-deafening noise. 

Later on last night, I woke up to the sound of thunder and pouring rain.  Just seconds later, the room lit up with a lightning flash and the loudest thunder I've ever heard in my life literally shook the house.  You know how you always learn to count the seconds between the thunder and lightning?  Well these were at the EXACT same time.  After a few more gigantic claps of thunder, the storm seemed to start moving away and gradually subsided, not without knocking out our power for the whole morning though!

Storms always serve as reminders to me of how small we are and how powerful God is.  To think of Jesus standing in a boat during a storm like one of these and calming it with his words blows my mind.  How incredible that our God has control over the forces of nature that we can only hope to endure...

Here are a few shots from the storm yesterday:

 

 

Calendar love

One of the quirky things that becomes evident after spending some time around here is that Kenyans LOVE calendars.  Desk calendars, flip calendars, and especially wall calendars are prized commodities, and many companies will give away calendars as a marketing tool.  Because many poorer Kenyan families don't indulge in things like home decorations, you will often find a one-room house that is covered inside with calendars going back years into the past.  For this application, it's not so much about the dates on the calendar as it is the pictures and slogans that you find printed around the dates - it's art! 

It's not surprising, then, that CARE for AIDS has a calendar for 2011.  You'll find these hanging on the walls of all our centers and offices, making sure that all of our workers know what the date of the third Wednesday in April will be...

Also, what better wedding favor than a calendar commemorating the big day?  Steve gave me this awesome wall calendar as a gift for being in his wedding - it features lots of pictures from the wedding and even an inspirational verse.  Sweet!

And if none of those match your home decor, you could always go with the ever-popular Obama family calendar, sold at all fine Kenyan supermarkets!  Just what we've always wanted to "Brighten the year 2011"...

Pray for Robert

This is Robert Muteithia - he's the CFA Regional Coordinator for the Limuru region and, if you can't tell from what he was wearing in this picture from our staff retreat, he is the man.  Robert started working here in the office last April, and he has been an incredible asset to the CFA team and our ministry. 

Unfortunately, Robert's father passed away last weekend after a long battle with sickness, and Robert is at his family's home in Nyeri this weekend preparing for the burial this weekend.  The whole process of his dad's illness has been a difficult struggle for Robert, and I know that he is really hurting right now.  I would really appreciate your prayers for him and for the rest of his family - Robert has several siblings, but he is the leader in these situations.  Please pray that he would have peace and strength this week as he spends time with his family and gets ready for the funeral this weekend, and pray that all of the rest of us can be an encouragement and source of love for him. 

Thanks so much! 

Kenya on the Rise

Not what you expect to find in Kenya, right?  You CAN enjoy this incredible cappuccino here though, which is exactly what I'm doing as I work (and blog) on my computer from the new ArtCaffe at the Village Market in Nairobi.  It actually feels much more like I am in Italy or France than Kenya at the moment, and the bustling activity here serves as another sign to me of the manner in which Kenya is growing.  Even in the last two years, I've observed the "middle class" expanding, with not only expats and foreigners enjoying places like ArtCaffe, but with more and more Kenyans gaining enough disposable income to frequent nicer establishments.  At the same time, this is providing more jobs (I can see at least 25 people working on the wait staff and in the kitchen - labor is MUCH cheaper here) and hopefully building an economy that is less and less reliant on foreign aid to survive. 

That's enough of the big-picture theorizing, though...back to my coffee!

Kisumu like a local

I spent three days last week in Kisumu, a Kenyan city on the shore of Lake Victoria where CFA has several centers.  The purpose of the trip was for me to spend some time with each member of our Kisumu administrative team, but it turned into an adventure in living like a local for a few days. 

First of all, I decided to take the bus instead of driving myself halfway across the country.  A bus ticket is WAY cheaper than paying for gas, plus driving is stressful, especially on your own.  The bus ride was great - I had a front-row seat and I got to sit next to a music professor who helped compose the Kenyan National Anthem...exciting!  It took about twice the time that driving would have, but at least I could sit back, relax, and read a book instead of having to maintain a fanatical focus on avoiding potholes, animals, and 18-wheelers. 

Second, I decided to stay at Cornel's house in Kisumu instead of my usual guesthouse.  Many of you have met Cornel, one of the Kenyan CFA Directors, so you know what an awesome guy he is.  I didn't really know what to expect in terms of staying with his family, but it ended up being a ton of fun!  Cornel and his wife Irene have three kids: Brian is in middle school, Justin is almost three years old, and Sherry is about 7 months old.  All are amazing kids, but Justin especially is super fun right now.  He is just to the point where he recognizes me and remembers my name, so he likes to run around (often naked) screaming "NIIIICK" and then barreling into me full speed or trying to kick my very white feet.  I'm pretty sure that being around me makes Justin much more violent and loud than normal.  I don't try to have that effect on him, but it just seems to happen...

Cornel ADORES baby Sherry!

It was also humbling in some ways to stay with all of the Onyango's.  They were so thoughtful and accommodating - everything from heaping food on my plate whenever it got low to improvising a shower system so I wouldn't have to take a typical Kenyan "bucket bath."  It really was amazing how hard they tried to anticipate anything that I could ever want and make sure it was there.  I definitely didn't feel like I deserved that kind of treatment, but it was a huge encouragement nonetheless!

Even apart from the CFA work, I felt like it was a great trip just for the relationships that I was able to continue to build with Cornel's whole family.  They are an incredible group, and I'm so blessed to have them as friends!