On the Road Again...and Again...and Again

Greetings from Nairobi…The long break since the last update is ironic since there has really been much to share but not the time and space to do it well.  Since I wrote the last blog in February there has been a lot of MOTION.  I think I counted something like 16 beds over 30+ days. 

The upside of all this motion has been some wonderful experiences both personally and professionally. I’ll give a quick recap and some reflections and then close with a bunch of pictures – so if you are visual you can just skip to the end.

On the personal front we have been able to see much of E. Africa in the last 5 weeks…We’ve been in the high altitude, (Mt Kenya region) the savannah (Laikipia) and the beach (Zanzibar).  We’ve hosted friends and family in some of these places (celebrated Berries’ 70^th birthday on Safari) and been able to enjoy the beauty of this region and the people who live here.  

The travel and motion has made our times back at our “home”, Amani Gardens, truly feel like home.  Both the people who work there, several whom have become friends, and the place itself, have been wonderful to return to again and again.  The four of us, considering our close quarters and the amount of time together, are doing well.  Certainly moments where we’d like to banish one another to the other side of the planet but all in all some rich time together.

Like Zambia, we have relished in the over-all pace of life here…Some of it is Africa and some of it is because we are just passing through and therefore not sustainable, but whatever the cause, it has been, and is, a gift and leaves us feeling grounded in what matters in ways that we can hopefully store up for the busier days of home.

We’ve has some harder moments as well – I was robbed in Dar Es Salam, TZ when my bag and computer were pulled out of the window of my parked cab.  I was bummed to lose my computer but almost as bummed to lose the 4 hours of work I had just done offline taking my email inbox from 350 to 30.   (Obviously thrilled to not be hurt and 1^st time in 14 years of living and traveling here to have something like this happen…I was due.)   Mother Molly had to endure being 8,000 miles away from a very sick with Mono Mackenzie who crashed when she went to Edina for Spring Break.  Many people stepped into care for her in our absence (thank you) and she ended up only missing a week of school and arrived back in Ft. Worth last night. 

Speaking of Mackenzie and the fact this blog started with dropping her off at TCU, she is doing great and loving her time so far…It has been a great start and fun to “watch” from afar.  Proud of how she is adjusting to this latest chapter of her life.

On the work front, which has precipitated most of the travel, it has been a wonderfully encouraging month.  From the last blog post from the Kenya refugee camp through last week in Ethiopia where we celebrated the first fortified wheat flour product in the country, I have seen over and over the power of connecting the expertise of our partner companies to small and growing food companies here. 

I will be heading back to Minnesota in May with many new insights and ideas for how we continue to sustain and grow our impact here as we work to improve food security and nutrition on this Continent that has now graciously served as our home twice.  I’m sometimes asked why we do this work here when there are so many needs at home…I have lots of answers to this question depending on whose asking and the time we have but in short I believe that it is a both/and equation.  In an ever-shrinking globe those in need here in Kenya are as much our neighbors as those in Minnesota.  Our model of remote knowledge transfer actually proves this out.  An expert in a lab or office in Minneapolis can share in real time their 30 years of experience with a company in Tanzania.  That is an amazing thing.  

Our time here has shown me again and again that helping food businesses in Africa grow has a profound and sustainable impact on the larger community and despite having engaged 600 companies here in Africa, we are really just getting started.

As we look ahead, we have just decided to make our way home on May 2 to be home in time to welcome Mackenzie back from school and to get Clara ready for Prom on the 7th (she received a really fun, creative invitation from 8,000 miles away that deserved a “Yes” Nice work Ben!)  

Speaking of Clara and Bennett they both deserve a shout out.  At 16 and 13 hanging with your parents for 4 months straight in the developing world does not usually top the list of priorities (It certainly didn’t for them - when this adventure was announced you may have heard the wailing and gnashing of teeth coming from our living room...)  To their immense credit they have (most days) embraced this opportunity and have jumped into it all with both feet.  As you can see from pics below they've had many priceless moments. Proud of them and fun to get back a couple weeks early to honor their attitudes.

With our last 6 weeks here we have a few more trips and a few more visitors but we will mostly be here in Nairobi, which feels very good.  The kids have a lot of online school to get through, Clara is studying for the ACT which she will be taking here in Nairobi, I have a lot more I want to get done here and Molly will be keeping the whole bus from veering off the road.

We will be soaking up our time here while we also look fwd. to being home with you all.

Enjoy this Spring season.

The Dykstra Fam