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WALLEIGH BLOG 2008 This page includes our traveling to Central and South America and back to Nairobi, Kenya and Eastern Africa. We have captured our international and
domestic travels in many photo web pages Oct. 10 – 44 Hours Door to Door! We had a great month in 4 African countries. But it was very tiring: really hard beds, so-so meals in many hotels, and needing to leave the bathroom light on every night because we were in so many different rooms there was no way I could remember where to turn in the middle of the night. It was especially wonderful to be home after 44 hours in transit. We left our Cape Town inn at 4:00 a.m. to fly into Johannesburg by 8:30 a.m. We had multiple-hour, scheduled layovers there, Nairobi and London which was only the halfway point in distance. Our last 11-hour leg to SFO seemed endless. Amazingly, our luggage arrived with us, our limo home was on time, and we were asleep after a little bit of critical unpacking. And it was sooooo good to sleep in my own bed!
Oct. 8 – Final Comments on Our Africa Trip U.S. Elections with Friends and Colleagues What amazed us everywhere we traveled in Africa was how closely everyone was following the U.S. Presidential Elections. It was less surprising in Kenya, of course, since they feel quite proprietary about Obama with some of his father’s family still living there. The good news was that Africans gave us their thoughtful opinions, asked who we were voting for, and especially what Americans thought about McCain and Palin though they might not know her name. The bad news: probably 90% of Americans could not have had the same intelligent discussions. In some ways that gives me hope that Africans will eventually bring that intelligence to bear on their own electoral processes and candidates. Surrealism of Feeling Like Being in Europe or California While Actually in Africa South Africa is a stunning country that geographically is like a consolidated California, turned 90o and two-thirds surrounded by ocean along a semi-circular coastline. Clearly different are South Africa’s wildlife and population mix, with whites estimated at 4.3-million (9.1%), colored (bi-racial) at 4.2-million (8.9%) and Indian/Asian at just short of 1.2-million (2.5%). But there were times that it felt surreal to remember we were in a country facing racial turmoil, dire poverty, great violence in Johannesburg, and a fragile, though growing, economy. Indeed, Cape Town is a beautiful cosmopolitan city despite being surrounded by depressing “flats” a.k.a. slums. The hotels, restaurants, shopping, and sites are a combination of San Francisco with a bit of Netherlands and England thrown in. Our brief stay in Cape Town at the beginning and end of our few days mostly involved spending time with our delightful niece Becca and her boyfriend Pete who are both working for nonprofits there to help mothers and youths affected by HIV/AIDS. The rest of the time we drove through Winelands, the equivalent of Napa and Sonoma Valleys in Calif., cute little tourist towns similar to Carmel, and a dramatic, gorgeous coastline that could have been the Mendocino coast. The farms could have been in Half Moon Bay near San Francisco. Many of the mostly Caucasian local people looked well-to-do. Local retail and hospitality businesses seemed British or Dutch-influenced. Periodically we were reminded of our being in Africa, especially when we passed some ostrich farms, saw a baboon darting distantly along the road and visited the penguin colony near Betty’s Bay. The South African trip description below may sound as though the Winelands, Klein Karoo and southern coast of Africa was ho-hum but there are just so many superlatives one can use. And at times I almost felt guilty at enjoying the scenery, food and B&Bs knowing that 90% of the country is desperately hungry and poor. Ironically, I prefer to see the contrasts more frequently. I prefer to remember that I’m in Africa to either see the amazing animals or help alleviate poverty. I actually prefer to spend my “vacation” in less-than-perfect places (though Ethiopia was a bit of a stretch for me) that remind of the struggle of the people nearby. I amaze myself by confirming with this South African experience that I’d rather not be comfortable in Africa as if visiting Europe. So October 2008 will be my last planned trip there.
Oct. 3 – 8 – Touring South Africa’s Coast and Winelands with our Niece We are very grateful to our South African friends now living in Calif. who planned our entire tour for these few days, telling us good places to eat, stay and even avoid. So on Saturday, Oct. 4th Pete, Becca, Rick and I drove to Franschoek in the Winelands. We stopped along the way at a couple of recommended vineyards, including one that was owned by university-chums of our South African friends. We ate at another vineyard’s restaurant where Rick had the Boboti stew-like casserole typical of the country, also suggested by our friends. Then we drove a bit further to stroll around Franschoek’s cute village where of course Becca and I enjoyed shopping. Montagu, about 2 hours’ further drive, was our evening destination but we stopped on the way to walk through the park-like memorial to the Huguenot pioneers (French Protestants) who settled locally. When we arrived at the Montagu Country Inn, we realized that the shops were closed, so we settled into our rooms, met for a lovely dinner in the hotel dining room, and turned in for the night. The next morning after breakfast we thoroughly explored Montagu, then drove toward the Klein Karoo, over the next mountain range’s crest. A karoo, which is found in different regions of South Africa, is more arid than the typical fertile farm areas. Klein Karoo is home to what was once the largest number of ostrich farms (still prevalent) and therefore the biggest supplier of ostrich feathers during their great demand in the late 1800s. Becca and Pete left us at the crest overlooking the Winelands to return to Cape Town for work. Rick and I followed our prescribed route to Oudtshorn where we were staying for the night at De Opstal, a B&B on a family farm which also raised ostriches. Before dinner, I walked around the property to commune with the few resident ostriches. They looked blankly at me, keeping their distance over the fence. As I returned to our cottage for a beer served on our porch, I felt like we were in Europe somewhere, despite the presence of cranky ostriches. The next morning, we drove to Plettenberg Bay which could have been Monterey, CA. Plettenberg Bay is the largest of the tourist towns near the mouth of Storms River, known to be very dangerous with lots of sunken ships there. Along the drive there were lots of breath-taking views of mountains and valleys as we approached the ocean again. In late afternoon, we arrived at what we thought was our hotel which could have been plunked down in the French Riviera. We were directed instead to another lovely hotel with a similar name and prepared to relax overlooking the ocean (tough job but someone has to do it…). Over the next 2 days, we drove along a rugged coastline to the bridge over Storms River and back, Rick hiked along the headlands, and I tried to recover from the horrible cold that had struck after we landed in Swaziland. Penguins, Whales and a Long Drive Back to Cape Town On Wednesday, we had a 6-hour drive back along the coastal route to Cape Town. In 2006 we had visited a colony of African Penguins (formerly known as Jackass for their loud braying) in a suburb of Cape Town; we were determined to find the almost-hidden colony in Betty’s Bay. Many false turns later, we arrived to see hundreds, maybe thousands of African Penguins lounging, waddling, and caring for their fluffy youngsters. Awwww! As we were walking back to our car, the woman who had taken our park fee pointed out the whales playing right off the beach in front of us. We never saw a whale breach, but there were several who stuck their tails straight out of the water, apparently to warm their blood before they dived. The whales were about ¼ mile offshore but we saw them so clearly it felt as though they were much closer. We continued back along one of the southernmost routes in the world back to our Inn with a View (of famous Table Mountain) in Cape Town. After a change of clothes, we drove to Becca and Pete’s cute apartment where we took a quick tour. The 4 of us then walked to Aubergine for dinner. Adrian, Rick and I had gotten lost trying to find this fabulous French restaurant in 2006 but it was a safe, easy walk from Becca and Pete’s. It was just as wonderful as we remembered and now they know another great restaurant for special occasions. Back at their apartment we hugged good-bye, drove a few blocks to our Inn, packed up and went to bed for a 4:00 a.m. wakeup to start our long journey home. Interesting factoid: Cape Agulhas is actually the southernmost point in Africa though Cape of Good Hope is credited with this distinction. The latter is really the south-western-most point in Africa. Pete and Becca Typify the Younger, Global Generation Becca and Pete represent the best of the new, global generation. Becca from Silver Spring, MD was traveling in Central America, at one point spending time volunteering with orphans in Nicaragua. There she met Pete from outside London, who was also traveling in Central America and helping out youth in Nicaragua. That’s where they started a relationship. They now live in Cape Town, South Africa because Pete could readily find a job in a Commonwealth country. Though Pete started out as an engineer in a for-profit company, he has now joined Becca working for a nonprofit, with both of them helping locals affected by HIV/AIDS. So that’s Silver Spring, MD + London U.K. to Nicaragua to South Africa! Flights from Swaziland to Cape Town— Amusing Only in Hindsight On Friday October 3rd, we arrived at the Matsapha International Airport (no one can really commercially fly inside Swaziland so one has to fly internationally) in plenty of time for our 8:15 a.m. flight. It was a cloudy day so we thought we heard our flight arriving from Johannesburg, but didn’t see it. A little before 8:00 a.m. the South African Airways’ local manager announced that this flight turned back because there were no flight controllers in the Matsapha tower so the pilot couldn’t land on instruments. And in classic Africa form, the next flight was full. Eventually the flight controllers arrived to guide the next flight, but there was no word on how we would get to Johannesburg to then fly to Cape Town on the 12:00 noon flight. Then the now-well-harassed SAA manager announced that the flight would return to Matsapha about 11:00 a.m. The flight landed, unhappy passengers disembarked, new unhappy passengers including us boarded, and off we flew to Jo’berg. Of course we landed too late to make our 12:30pm flight to Cape Town on Kulula.com--the South African equivalent of Southwest Airlines. We managed to get on the stand-by list for the 3:00 pm Kulula flight. But then we had to wait 2+ hours in a stiflingly hot hallway with virtually no circulating air, then waited more time due to mechanical difficulties. Eventually we took off for the 1 hour Cape Town journey, landing after 9:00 pm. We arrived, picked up our rental car, and reached Inn with a View, our B & B, about 11:00 pm. In essence the 2.5 hours of flights from Swaziland to Cape Town took about 15 hours in total. T.i.A.
Sept. 29 – Oct. 2 - Swaziland Moves Slowly Forward to the 21st Century Returning almost 2 years after we lived there, we were reminded that Swaziland is truly a beautiful country with many mountains and fertile valleys. Everything moves at a much slower-pace. The capital, Mbabane, is like a small, manageable mid-western U.S. city vs. the chaos of Nairobi, Kenya or even Kampala, Uganda. We did get to spend a bit of time with friends, including our TechnoServe country director and her husband as well as our prior landlord and neighbors of our picturesque cottage. Most of the time Rick and colleagues taught a class and I visited some clients. Depressingly, HIV/AIDS is Still a Plague, Creating a Country of Orphans According to the 2008 CIA Factbook, 500,000 people or 40% of the 1.29M Swazis are 14 and under. 38.8% of the population has HIV/AIDS which surpasses Botswana, placing Swaziland at the world’s highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS. According to the 9th Round of National HIV Sero-Surveillance in 2004, 42.6% of pregnant Swazi women have HIV/AIDS. 2006 - 2007 Swaziland Health and Demographics Survey accumulated and analyzed a wide-range of health and other aspects of Swazi households, though not including Orphaned and Vulnerable Children living in institutions and other non-household settings. 25% of surveyed youth under 18 were orphaned—defined as 1 or both parents dead. Only 20% of children surveyed were living with both parents. And even if youth survive to 18 (Swaziland’s median age), their unemployment rate is over 60%. TechnoServe Clients are Some Bright Spots in Swaziland: See the Swaziland 2008 webpage for details and pictures on St. Phillips Pepper Farm, Eswatini Swazi Kitchens and ESK Honey
Sept. 25 – 28 - Good to be “Home Again” in Kenya Kenya’s Stability For several months in 2008, the U.S./international press played up the chaos caused by Kenya’s election, then went silent as the U.S. election really heated up. Both the turmoil and the silence continue to hurt Kenya. Though there were some scary times for a few weeks in January and February when our Nairobi friends stayed in their homes, even then they told us that 80% or more of the disruption was in either in the city’s Kibera slum or in Western Kenya. Yes, up to 1 million people were internally displaced from their homes at one time. Yes, Luo and Kikuyu who had been neighbors for years decided to kill about 1,000 of each other. Yes, the joint government has duplicated every ministerial position and top staff. Yes, it’s imperfect. But I was again inspired just being there, especially seeing what TechnoServe’s clients are accomplishing, my colleagues’ dedication, and the calm, back-to-business-as-usual attitude around the country. Visit to 2 of TechnoServe Kenya’s Winning Entrepreneurs – Though the Entrepreneur After-Care for graduates of the 2007 national Believe Begin Become (BBB) business plan competition was due to start in January 2008, political turmoil prevented the program from being fully established until March 2008. TechnoServe contacted all 300 regional winners to survey status of their businesses to see if they needed TechnoServe or other support. Most of those surveyed said they benefited from the original BBB training but all seem to be struggling with funding, especially the start ups. Because all participants are youth, they have little or no collateral and are waiting for funding from the Ministry of State for Youth Affairs which is still trying to set up a separate parastatal agency for financing youth. Additionally most Africans, especially men, don’t like standard micro-financing because they don’t like group pressure. Also funding is generally less than what they need to start a formal enterprise. Via alumni meetings, emails with questionnaires, and conference calls, TechnoServe selected 20 trained participants, most of who were among the Top 100 Finalists, to participate in a formal Entrepreneur After-Care program. I visited two of these 20 entrepreneurs on their company’s sites. See the Kenya 2008 webpage for pictures and details on Bioplast Industries and Language Solutions and Business Communications
Sept. 23 – 25 – Quick 2 Days to Visit My Animals at Lewa Conservancy In fall 2007, we spent a few days with our family and good friends on an amazing private reserve near Mt. Kenya. It was such a wonderful experience, and I missed “my animals” so we decided to jam in a 2 day visit, flying in and out on a very small plane*. Lewa at one time had been a 63,000 acre ranch that in the 1970s the owners had converted to a conservancy. The Craigs have been social and eco-activists not only re-introducing animals once native to the area but also sensitizing then training many nearby villages to the potential of tourism vs. poaching and just subsistence farming. Lewa itself has additionally become a sanctuary for both the more common white rhinos as well as rare black rhinos—about 50 of each—which eventually will be re-established in eastern and southern Africa. Several villages now successfully host eco-tourism lodges, game experiences, and cultural events. Lewa has been deservedly recognized as a model of cooperation and innovation by local, national and regional organizations and governments. I feel pure joy at seeing these animals in their own settings. Just on the hour ride from the airstrip to the main camp, we saw elephants, 3 cheetah brothers, lots of impalas/gazelles, zebras, warthogs, giraffes, and birds of all sorts. Over the course of the two days in Lewa, we managed to see 4 of the “Big Five” (not leopards) and many other critters in or near their homes on two early morning (leave the camp 6am) and two evening safari drives with our own guide, Johnson. We had great food and relaxed. I don’t know why but in every game park I feel a magical—maybe spiritual—connection with the animals in their different world. *Each day, apparently, a flight to and from the Lewa area is “scheduled.” But the flight is more like a flying matatu taxi which makes as many or as few stops as needed along both ways. The 10-passenger plane left Nairobi for Lewa a few minutes early. We 1st landed in Nanyuki, then flew on to Lewa. Our return trip to Nairobi left over 1 hour sooner than we originally planned and stopped about 30 minutes west of Lewa before heading back to Nairobi. T.i.A. (This is Africa)!
Sept. 19 – 22 - Anna & Greg’s Memorable Wedding on Lamu Island We landed in Nairobi on Sept. 18th evening, spent the night in a clean but over-priced and slightly tasteless hotel near the airport, then returned to the airport on Sept. 19th to fly to Lamu island. In the waiting room next to ours we saw some friends on a different flight to the Lamu wedding. As it turned out, we were grateful that we were not on theirs since they were quite late in arriving on Lamu. However we began to relax as we boarded the speedboat at the Lamu airport, landed in front of the Peponi Hotel* to be greeted by Anna and Greg, then walked to our room overlooking the beach. Most of the 25 of wedding attendees—including 7 of Anna’s Polish relatives and friends—gathered for a lovely late lunch on the ocean-view balcony. Right before sunset, we departed from the hotel on some dhows (Arab-style sailboats typical of the Swahili coast) to have drinks and bitings (munchies) on a floating bar a couple of miles away. We enjoyed meeting new folks from Europe and Africa and reacquainting ourselves with some Nairobi friends. Then we sailed back to the hotel for more wonderful, fresh food at dinner. Are we seeing the start of a pattern? * This tropical, white-washed hotel, open to the ocean breezes, could have been on a Greek or Caribbean island. The formerly European couple who owned the place had lived there many years though it was clear that the wife did 90% of the work, supervising staff, delicious meals, guests’ island activities and experience. She was even decorating the wedding ceremony area with flowers and candles until right beforehand. Her barefooted husband pretty much wore a t-shirt and sarong-style kikoi cloth all day, sat at the bar smoking and drinking, rumored to have recovered from cancer, and very much looking like it… Wedding Day After Saturday breakfast, Greg and all the men sailed off on dhows supposedly for races but mostly for partying. Anna herded all the women up to the terrace off her suite where two robed, local women spent the next few hours treating us to massages, pedicures, manicures and henna painting. All of the women ended up with at least one small henna spot. I had lovely black-ink paintings on both shoulders, inside wrists, and lower legs to ankles. The fantasy of tattoos without the permanent repercussions! The Ceremony The District Commissioner (who owned the only car on Lamu) and his assistant—along with his little son—arrived and signaled for the ceremony to start. Anna walked with her mother (from Poland), maid (U.S. living in Nairobi) and matron of honor (also from Poland) through bowers of flowers up to the terrace, also laden with candles and flowers. There Greg and his best man Klaus (a European living in Nairobi) waited. Using a laminated, 2-sided guide, the Commissioner began by reviewing pertinent Kenyan law about only one spouse per person among other things. Next he asked Anna if she would take Brian Gregory Kruse to be her lawfully wedded husband. Taken aback, Anna paused and said, “Yes, I will take Gregory Brian Kruse” to be my lawfully wedded husband*…” . Given that the government had misspelled Anna’s name on the wedding license, our friends hoped that the union would still be valid according to Kenyan law if the officiator also reversed Greg’s proper name. The rest of the 20 minute service went smoothly. We all congratulated the couple over champagne and bitings, while looking out at the ocean washed by sunset. About 2 hours later, we gathered on the lawn for the evening dinner and dance reception. All in all we were delighted to have participated in this the unique and lovely wedding weekend. *Kenya’s special wedding process: Anna and Greg showed us that the Kenyan license (which looked like an old dot-matrix printout ripped off a paper roll) was a bit odd because it listed each spouse’s prior “condition.” This meant Greg was listed as “Divorcee” and Anna, “Spinster.” I’ll have to review our old marriage license but I don’t think our conditions are noted there… Lamu Town after the Wedding On Sunday, over half the guests returned to Nairobi and beyond, but those of us remaining explored the island on our own. Since we had been to Lamu in spring of 2007 to do the standard tourist activities, we decided to just explore the back streets of this Arab-style town of a few thousand people. We indeed saw the one car (District Commissioner’s), a few small tractors, and heard the rumor of an ambulance. The oldest buildings are built from coral and old cement. The walkways between them range from the width of one loaded donkey to two plus a person alongside. Many “streets” had open rain drains in the middle, with dark tiny shops displaying wares to passersby and signs along some painted walls in English or Arabic. Women were in dark robes though most didn’t have faces covered. Generally men wore light-colored knitted caps with western clothes. Most children ran happy and free but stayed near their parents. Clearly we were oddities but we felt comfortable as we walked through their back streets,. We stopped in a residential alley to buy some unusual beaded necklaces and later returned to a store where we had been in 2007 to buy a few especially nice items. On Monday morning, we few from Lamu to Nairobi with Anna and Greg then spent the rest of the day with them, shopping, eating, and drinking in our old hang-outs. What a fabulous weekend to celebrate with good friends in a paradise-like setting!
Sept. 16 - 17, 2008 – WW visits Ugandan TechnoServe clients While Rick was teaching in Kampala, I was driven about 50 km. east to see new participants in the regional dairy project underwritten by Gates Foundation. Buikwe Dairy Co-op is located near Lugazi town in one of 14 Ugandan districts that will benefit from the East Africa Dairy Development program. This Co-op had begun to form in April 2008. But from the first mid-June 2008 meeting with TechnoServe and its dairy project partners, the co-op has in its first 90 days: almost doubled its membership to 130 people; taken over a building for formal activities; established a credit union; created an animal pharmacy; and hired a vet to run it. There is now a formal co-op structure with membership fees, shares in the cooperative, officers, committees, trainings, and regular meetings. Best of all, the whole organization has started to benefit from bulking milk for volume sales, achieving more consistent, higher prices and lowering their risk of traders’ non-payment. Plus they have spelled out specific goals to increase each household’s income, such as: regular technical and business trainings; collective bargaining and marketing; improved farm productivity; and breeding higher quality cows. Co-op Meeting I attended a morning meeting with over 30 members including 8 women and 4 youth (19 to 24 year olds). After standard co-op business was conducted, they talked about their challenges including recruiting new members since cooperatives are not common in Uganda and any prior groups collapsed. Then unexpectedly I was asked to speak to the group, 90% of whom spoke virtually no English though they asked how I was going to solve all their problems. Somehow I muddled through, hopefully not offending anyone. At least they applauded and smiled politely at me though I don’t know what they said in their native language later… See the Uganda 2008 webpage for details of the 3 farms I visited for the East Africa Dairy Development program.
Sept. 15 - 16, 2008 – Rick and team teach a class Since returning to the U.S. at the end of 2007, Rick has been leading the development of a cross-TechnoServe (TNS) project management methodology. Our trip in May 2008 to TNS Latin America’s offices and programs helped him understand the common needs and differences among countries’ staffs to manage complex programs in agriculture and entrepreneurship. Now he and a TechnoServe HQ team were piloting the training with the Ugandan staff as well as a few TNS people from Kenya and Rwanda. Rick’s goal was to learn from this and the Swaziland pilot trainings then improve everything for the 2nd round of African training in Feb. 2009. Then it will be translated into Spanish for TechnoServe’s Latin American programs. My observations from sitting at the back of the class: TechnoServe staff in Africa is growing dramatically whereas in Latin America, the staff numbers are static. For example, since Oct. 2007 when we last visited the TNS Uganda, the 3 to 4 people including those in the field had expanded to 27 who had mostly started in the last 6 months! Except for the TechnoServe CEO and a few of us who were visiting, the staff is all locals who during introductions at the beginning of class seem to have strong, related backgrounds. Though quiet during the “lectures” they responded eagerly to the materials and group breakouts, not wanting to stop for lunch. And it was exciting to witness their confident interaction with visitors including the CEO.
Sept. 13
– 14, 2008 – Being in Africa Seems Normal
Sept. 11 – 13, 2008 – Surprise: flight delays on our way to Africa Rick and I left Calif. on Tues., Sept. 9th to stay in Bethesda with Rick’s mother while visiting TechnoServe headquarters. This also allowed us to adjust 3 hours to an eventual time difference of 10 to 11 hours for Africa. On Thurs., Sept. 11th we flew from Dulles Airport into Heathrow, London landing the next morning about 20 minutes early. Apparently while we were flying over the Atlantic, Kenya Airways decided to cancel* our next flight! When we checked into the Kenya Airways desk—shared with KLM, Northwest and other airlines—to get our boarding passes for Nairobi and Kampala, we were told our 10:00am flight was cancelled and we were booked on the 8:00pm overnight flight to connect in Nairobi with an 8:30am flight to Kampala, Uganda. We were stranded for 14 instead of 4 hours in Heathrow, with 3 options: 1) try to stretch out on benches with arms along with hundreds of passengers wandering around; 2) pay to stay in the quieter, private airline lounge with the hope for small sofas; or 3) pass through UK immigration to get a hotel near the airport. We visited the KLM, Kenya Airways, etc. airport lounge called “Holideck” where the receptionist told us that they would charge us only double the normal 3-hour guest rate per person for our 12-hour visit which would be $160 total. By the time we decided to try to get a nearby hotel, it seemed that ten 747-size flights had landed, putting 100s of other cranky passengers in a 2 to 3 hour queue to exit into the UK. After 45 minutes of moving about 45 feet, we returned to the Holideck lounge, plunked down our $160, found a quiet conference-type room on the 2nd floor, moved chairs and footstools together, each swallowed an Ambien, and stretched out to sleep for about 5 hours. The Kenya Airways flight left Heathrow Friday night on time for the 7.5 hour trip to Nairobi, where we arrived at 6:30 am on Saturday morning, plenty of time before our next leg. No gate had been posted yet, so we walked to the end of the Departure level of Kenyatta Airport to the familiar Java House coffee shop. When we checked into the gate for the Kampala flight, it was announced that our flight was delayed because the plane’s brakes needed to be repaired. By this time, we were back in T.i.A. mode (This is Africa), so we calmly waited in the gate lounge, quietly praying that mechanics knew what they were doing. After our 15 hours in transit + 15 hours in flight, our safe landing in Kampala about 11:00am was therefore doubly appreciated. * No reason for cancellation was given, though we suspect that it was not a full flight so they pushed those passengers to the evening flight.
July 2008
– Random Thoughts Since returning to the U.S. at the end of 2007, Rick has been engaged or leading some TechnoServe projects, though it hasn’t interfered with his doing a lot of skiing. Rick’s operations projects require grounding and input from the teams in each country to ensure that he delivers systems that meet their needs. My focus has been on house projects to repair or update some areas that were neglected while we were in Africa. We’ve exchanged all light bulbs for compact fluorescents, added better but low-flow shower heads, been researching instant water heaters, considering how to improve the house’s ancient, poor water pressure, and finally, sharing one car. With our travel schedules entailing at least 1 week per month away from home, we will probably just drive one car through the end of 2008, then I’ll buy a hybrid. It feels as though I’m back in college sharing a car. It’s weird but certainly indicates how much needing a 2nd car for us is not a necessity. Actually doing some paid work for a change I admit that I’ve been both a bit jealous of Rick’s working part-time and skeptical about how I can fit stimulating part-time paid work into what will be a hectic travel schedule for the rest of the year. While I was tagging along in Latin America, I sat in the discussions with TechnoServe staff, observed the clients, and reminisced about my life before 2008. I realized how much I need to have at least some serious focus and clear structure in my life. Our trip to Latin America (see impressions below and www.walleigh.com) really reinforced my desire to start networking again. Serendipitously, I have now become a contractor for TechnoServe HQ, writing marketing content for various media as needed and eventually, hopefully, fundraising on the West Coast. Be careful what I ask for??? Boating, Eating and Spending a Few Days with Other Long-time Friends Just a few days after my traveling for 6 weeks and after 2 years of spending U.S. Independence Day in Africa, we finally spent July 4th in America. Ironically, however, we were with 2 couples who were born and raised in the U.K. though are now U.S. citizens. On the other hand, we’ve known them for over 25 years since our kids were in diapers. Brian and Chris’ vacation home at a Lake in the Sierra foothills was a beautiful setting for a totally relaxed few days. Besides spending time each day on the boat, we read, ate, walked, ate, watched terrific fireworks, ate, listened to great music, and ate. Life is good!
June 27 to 29 – Celebration with College Friends for a Wedding What is a better life celebration with friends than a wedding? When it’s a wedding with friends who have known each other for over 40 years and actually still love each other. My college room-mate has been the 1st of our close group of 4 to host our next generation’s wedding--her son’s about 5 years ago and her daughter’s on June 28, 2008 (which also happened to be the same date as one of the other couple’s anniversaries). It was a beautiful wedding with the ceremony outdoors (luckily the rain had started and stopped 3 hours prior) and the reception in a tent on the same site. This was the 2nd blessed event in 2008 for Patti. The first was the birth of her 1st grandchild, Ava, who arrived 2 months early but is doing well. Each year for over 20 years, we have almost religiously re-united, usually near NYC. For some reason, though I live the farthest distance, I continue to be the catalyst, and often arranger, of our reunions. But that’s still a good trade-off for the rewards of continuing to be so close that even our husbands* are comfortable together. *Rick has actually known all of the women since college, which is longer than any of their husbands have!
June 21 to 30 – Productive Relaxation in Bethesda Few daughter-in-laws are fortunate to have a good relationship with their mother-in-laws. I know I’m in an elite, lucky group to have as ideal a relationship* with my mother-in-law as I do. We can chat together almost endlessly, read quietly in the same room, enjoy the same movies (this time the racy Sex and the City), as well as just give each other space to be. By the end of 2008, which is her 85th and my 60th years, I’ll have stayed more than 5 times in her home for at least a week. My life is so much better with her in it. I can only hope (with probably low odds) that my children’s eventual spouses will enjoy spending time with me this way… *And my sister-in-laws and I have strong relationships, too!
June 14 to 21 – Boston Bar Mitzvah and Other Visits Our first big event that catalyzed our stay in the northeast was that my 1st cousin Amy’s son Josh was Bar Mitzvah’d on June 14th outside of Boston. Miraculously I found a deal at a small Marriott’s near Adrian on the edge of South Boston/Dorchester—4 nights on Rick’s last points and 4 at a bargain “winter rate” from AAA. It even included free parking. We could hop on and off the T or the freeway in a half mile. Spending less than $300 per night close into Boston is virtually impossible, so yes, I was excited. Anyway, when I arrived on June 13th, Adrian told me that we would have dinner at Pier 4 Restaurant (on me of course) with Jason (Diana’s boyfriend) and Lindsey (Adrian’s girlfriend) with the hope that Rick would join us when he flew in later. Adrian was pleased because it’s not only a wonderful restaurant but because he knew that’s where Rick and I had our wedding reception. Rick was delayed in Dallas but the other 4 of us had fun together. Family is incredibly important to us, so Diana was sad to miss the Bar Mitzvah because of hospital orientation. Josh was a terrific, confident Bar Mtizvah and the post-service Kiddush with family was a treat. However, every time I attend a typical 3-plus hour Jewish service, I remember why Jews always have suffered. On the other hand, we do know how to throw a party with fabulous food. During the Kiddush and later in the tent behind Amy’s house for the evening celebration, we ate, drank and kibbitzed with great gusto. A wonderful day was had by all. Though Rick left on June 16th for NYC then DC on TechnoServe business, I stayed on through June 21st to spend more 1 on 1 time with Adrian, college friends and my favorite Aunt and Uncle. This was heavenly also because it was the 1st time in a month that I could fully unpack my clothes and spend more than 2 nights in the same bed!
June 10 to 13 - Moving Diana into her Townhouse in Greenville, NC Diana will now be driving the blue VW Beetle every day during her 3-year pediatric residency program at East Carolina University’s Pitt Memorial Hospital. She is finally paid above poverty level—though her salary divided by 80 hours per week (American Medical Association’s recently established maximum for residents) is barely above minimum wage. Despite the meager earnings, she could afford to buy her own townhouse for the cost of one room in most California homes and for about the same as a monthly NC apartment rental. And it’s absolutely lovely: light, open and cheery! The previous owners had recently updated the house including the kitchen (which even has a wine fridge!). Before Garner left, we filled a cart for Diana at Bed, Bath and Beyond. After we dropped Garner at the Raleigh airport, Diana and I began our multiple missions: furniture shopping, changing the car title, finding good grocery/cleaners/hardware stores, buying a dolly/toolbox/patio table at Lowe’s, and most importantly unloading the bright yellow Penske truck still half-filled with Diana’s possessions. Thank God that her friend’s parents who have a 2nd home on the NC coast, had given her a wooden ramp for her to transport in the moving truck and that they’d pick up at a later date. Using the ramp and the dolly we unloaded dressers, huge boxes, and finally the washer and dryer donated by these same friends. I have to say that even though Diana did 70+% of the work, I was very proud of our joint effort! Besides, even just sweating with Diana is loads of fun!
May 31st to June 10th – Impressions from Garner and WW’s U.S. Road Trip This was Garner’s 1st drive across the U.S. and my 4th (and last) so we stopped where she requested. She did a tremendous amount of research for each of our major tourist attractions, resulting in great hotels and food. We laughed every day, talked a lot, enjoyed books on tapes, and were flexible about pretty much everything else. So we had a fabulous experience! Days 1 through 10 are detailed on the website so I’ll only add a few brief stories. – Not much of interest driving from Los Altos through California’s Central Valley to Needles until we arrived at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. – There is nothing in the world I’ve seen so far that is comparable to the vastness of the Grand Canyon. And there is nothing else like a helicopter ride over it to really validate that impression. Mind-boggling and stunning… – Santa Fe, NM has even more art galleries than Carmel or Napa. My favorite experience there was the Georgia O’Keefe museum with a brief film about how and why she chose Santa Fe as her key artistic inspiration. – I don’t know why anyone lives in Texas. Outside temps reached over 100o daily. Yes, it’s dry heat but it’s still an oven. – Even though the Garden District is quite lovely, New Orleans’s French Quarter is like a walking fraternity party--lots of booze and loud music. Particularly also in light of the Katrina-condemned homes, I don’t need to visit New Orleans again. – Having no air conditioning for 3 days while driving through a solid wall of heated humidity was quite unpleasant but doable. – Savannah is genteelly picturesque with its stately homes, Spanish moss on trees, and what seemed like hundreds of green and flowering squares with houses surrounding them. – Charleston’s architecture generally is older than Savannah’s because it wasn’t burned down by the Yankees during the Civil War. So there are many Charleston buildings and streets that look like they’d fit perfectly into any city constructed pre-American Revolution, especially Georgetown in D.C. I also enjoyed the bustling energy of a busy Atlantic Ocean port contrasted with lovely streets of “olde shoppes”, colonial structures, and ante-bellum mansions. As we pulled up to Diana’s beautiful townhouse in Greenville on June 10th, we were happy to no longer spend hours in the car, question a bathroom’s cleanliness at gas stations, and eat boring food. However, the road trip cemented a treasured friendship with amazing shared memories.
May 30th – 24 hours in California I skipped Guatemala on our TechnoServe Latin America trip; returned on May 29th a couple of days before Rick; did laundry and errands; then left on May 31st with a woman friend, Garner, on a road trip across the U.S. We would drive from Los Altos, CA to Greenville, NC in order to deliver my VW Bug to Diana by June 10th. Other than 24 hours back in CA I would be traveling through from May 19th to June 30th for a total of 6 weeks, including family and friend visits and events in Boston, Bethesda and Philadelphia.
May 2008 - Latin America Trip Impressions Rather than repeating what our website already pictures and describes, I’ve sketched just my impressions because this trip moved incredibly fast. I traveled 4 countries in 11 days and 5 countries in 13 days for Rick! In fact Rick and I may have hit a record: 4 cities in 3 countries in 24 hours (Cajamarca to Lima, Peru to San Salvador airport to Managua, Nicaragua). More Serious Thoughts PERU: Our time with the clients and the staff in Cajamarca were our highlights. Though I must say that Cuy (guinea pig) is a difficult protein for Norte Americanos to contemplate. After all, American kids keep guinea pigs as pets. The ceviche (marinated raw fish), however, was excellent. NICARAGUA: Nactamales (Nicaraguan tamales) are tasty, the scenery is nice, and the people lovely. For me these were offset by Daniel Ortega’s overly cheery pre-election billboards everywhere (with a fuchsia background), especially because they were created by his wife, the Nicaraguan Government’s Communication Director. This is nepotism at its worst and irony at its best (Western-style posters for a Socialist / Communist). It was weird for me being in Managua at a Holiday Inn, watching American TV with Spanish subtitles and listening to Spanish speakers in the hall. EL SALVADOR: Sunday to tour around San Salvador: – Our delightful guide (who had lived in TX as a roughneck oil worker) and driver were very knowledgeable about current and historical events. – We saw Mayan ruins of both working and religious villages; 335 year old church; picturesque caldera lake; beautiful indigenous gardens; parrots at the restaurant where we had lunch; and a delightful market in a town plaza. – Near the town of Sulchitoto, we were reminded that the early 1980s to 1990s were chaotic in El Salvador as well as Nicaragua by: o Bullet holes in the walls along a residential street; o A gigantic rocket bomb (hopefully defused) stuck by its “nose” in the front yard of a house along the road leading into town. – At 6:35 p.m. a strong earthquake disconcertingly shook our hotel for about 1 minute. TechnoServe El Salvador staff are not only impressive for its current work, but also for maintaining operations during the civil war. Their contribution was recognized by the post-war government who contracted with TNS to help re-train combatants on both sides to become more agriculturally productive than before the turmoil. – During our visit to Las Isla, an artisan cheese maker being helped by TNS, we had to dress in sanitary gear to tour the processing plant. We gained insight into cheese and milk processing as well as had fun dressing up. HONDURAS Our TechnoServe office is in San Pedro Sula, not Tegucigalpa the capital, because it is closer to the clients as well as being safer. However, being driven from the airport to our hotel into a very industrial area was like driving through Newark, NJ but with more poverty. Despite the surrounding area, our hotel was filled with tourists so clearly it was a nice place, comparable to African business hotels. But the depressiveness was offset by meeting the delightful staff the next morning, going to see clients in action, and learning where/how my favorite food group, chocolate, is grown and processed! OVERALL We were very impressed with how competent and organized the TNS staff was in all the Latin countries. And seeing clients like Clarita’s Mix, Cuy Network, Cris Vida Water, La Isla cheese, and Apatch Cocoa Nursery and Farm continues to be tangible proof that TechnoServe’s approach really does work! More Humorous Moments – BEST CERVESA: Cuzquena Rubio (Peru) then Port Royale (Honduras) though Premium (Nicaragua) and Golden (El Salvador) were OK.
– BEST FOOD: the hands-down winner is Salvadoran restaurants (we had dinner at La Cofradias down the hill from our San Salvador Radisson hotel and lunch at Posada Sulchitoto in Sulchitoto, El Salvador. At both restaurants we were the only foreigners. My favorite dish is pupusas. I also like one called "doggie ears" (small, fried, meat-filled empanadas) as well as sweet tamales and plantain-filled pastries. – BEST CROP: Cocoa beans in Honduras, since chocolate is my favorite food group. – WORST ROAD: After lunch in the cute little town of San Marcos, Peru we drove to the cuy (guinea pig) farm to supposedly arrive around 2:00 p.m. After about 45 minutes on a deteriorating dirt road we arrived where the road was closed due to construction for about another 45 minutes. Of course we had the same experience 1.5 hours later when we had to return to San Marcos on the same road. An hour each way turned into 2 hours… – FUNNIEST SOUND & IMAGE: whistling guinea pigs which frantically pile on top of each other as soon as we walked into the room with their cages. Maybe even their tiny minds understand how fragile and short their lives are. – Latin American Client Visits (see our website to view clients’ pictures) – Cocoa Nursery outside San Pedro Sula, Honduras We were picked up at 7:30am to meet our host the country director at the office then we were driven to the Apatch "fine cocoa" project in Chocoloma Basin outside San Pedro Sula. Just as TNS is helping its coffee farmers move into premium bean production, TNS Honduras is working with cocoa bean growers to upgrade to a high sugar content bean that can be made into edible, virtually 100% chocolate bars without added sweetening. Lots of cocoa seedlings were lined up in the nursery. Some were to remain “common” and some were to become finer cocoa species. We witnessed the finer cocoa being micro-grafted onto the baby cocoa plants as well as onto mature bushes. The latter is mostly trial and error since TechnoServe and the Honduran government’s agricultural department is not familiar with proven grafting techniques for older plants. But some success is certainly better than having local cocoa crops be poorly maintained and valued. Now I can picture how chocolate is grown every time I indulge! An Artisan Salvadoran Cheese Maker in Sonsonete, San Salvador About one hour’s drive from San Salvador, we visited La Isla cheese manufacturer in the small city of Sonsonete. Though the owner had been in business for about 25 years, TechnoServe had enabled him to build a new factory, train better workers, expand the number of cheese brands and types, find new markets (including potentially the U.S.) and create his own small retail cheese stores. Before Rick, Cindi, the TechnoServe staff and I could enter the facilities, we suited up in doctor-like booties, coats, masks and hats so that the cheese and milk would remain uncontaminated. We saw milk being fermented into fresh cheeses (crema and queso) as well as the processing, refrigeration, and packaging of multiple soft and hard cheeses. Though the site would probably not meet U.S.D.A. import standards currently, the entrepreneur, his staff and TNS supporters were working hard to achieve them in the future. Meanwhile, we all enjoyed their great recent success! Clients near Cajamarca, Peru From 2003 to 2005 and now again 2006 to 2008, TechnoServe (TNS) Peru has been helping Micro- and Small-Enterprises expand revenues, employment, and potential to impact poor and rural Cajamarca Province’s economy. A large corporation mining gold and silver is located near the city of Cajamarca. The workers and communities who contribute to the mine’s significant growth have not seen parallel improvements in their lives. It is anticipated that these precious metals may continue to be successfully mined until 2028 or even 2035. Recognizing their responsibility to the surrounding region, the large mining company has established a separate “corporate social responsibility” organization. Its goal is to source as many supplies from local vendors as possible as well as raise these vendors’ skills and products to serious corporate standards. Three major donors including the mining company underwrite TechnoServe Peru’s Small Enterprise project which identifies, assesses, and trains 20 qualified entrepreneurs per year in business/marketing, production/technical skills, and finance/accounting. In turn, each TNS alumni business should engage/impact up to 20 supplier-farmers whose increased family incomes will improve access to education, healthcare, and other services. TechnoServe helps improve local vendors’ capacities and revenues as well as connect them to more customers locally, across Peru, and even globally. Since 2003 TechnoServe Peru will have improved the livelihoods of over 150 entrepreneurs and 1,500 farmers in the Cajamarca region--all of whom are now actually benefiting from the mine’s success.
Mid-May 2008 - “The Road to” TechnoServe Latin America From May 19 – 31st 2008, Rick and I were on the road to TechnoServe offices in Peru, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. Rick’s operations’ projects required input from the teams in each country to ensure that he delivers systems that meet their needs. Seeing field projects, interviewing in-country TNS staff, with brief bouts of sleeping and eating made this a hectic but insightful trip. I just tagged along but documented some client and country stories for my own purposes. Despite our unfamiliarity with TACA “Grupo” airlines (representing several Central American countries), upon arrival at SFO at 11pm on May 19th, we were informed that because we were business class on the leg from San Salvador to Lima (which was news to us), they were upgrading us on the SFO to San Salvador trip as well. More leg room, better food, classier service—why not? We arrived at the San Salvador airport in El Salvador, entitled to spend our 5-hour layover in the 1st class lounge, a considerable step up from Nairobi’s equivalent. I was able to stretch out on a sofa, sleep comfortably for 2.5 hours, and take advantage of free wifi Internet. Though we did experience a very brief power outage, overall it was very pleasant! Life
in the Balance by Dr.
Tom Graboys Diana had taken care of Dr. Graboys’ dogs while he and his new wife traveled, so had personal as well as professional insight into how to lead a balanced though highly demanding medical life. Before she left Lown, she learned that Dr. Graboys suffered from Parkinson’s disease, which forced him to retired in 2005. While at SFO awaiting our flight to Latin America, I started reading Graboys’ recently published Life in the Balance, a brutally honest review about how he denied then faced Parkinson’s which had the additional misery of “Lewy body” dementia. It’s a tough read but well-written and uplifting despite the eventual, known outcome. It should inspire anyone who faces a debilitating disease because even brilliant doctors must deal with fear, anger, and denial when they are ill. Graboys’ remarkable story though sad, shows that hope with dignity is also possible with support from family/friends/colleagues/patients. *Diana told many stories about his patients pulling up to the clinic in stretch limos but one of my favorites was her reviewing a chart of a patient named Edward Kennedy to whom she gave a stress test. She honestly didn’t associate his name with U.S. Senator Teddy Kennedy until one of the nurses later mentioned it. The Senator probably found it refreshing to have the Lown Staff treat him as a patient, not a personality.
May 1, 2008 – Irony After 6 Months Back in the U.S. Though Rick and I slipped surprisingly easily into our U.S. life almost immediately upon our return from Africa, I’m having weird conflicting feelings recently. I suspect it reflects my lack of daily structure, not working on intellectual projects, and missing a real sense of purpose that I felt in Africa. I have thoroughly enjoyed re-connecting with our wonderful U.S. friends and family. But right now I miss our African friends as well as impacting “real world” struggles to survive. I know that many in the U.S. face dire straits, but recently I feel the need to return to Africa to fully appreciate what over 50% of the world faces every day. Kenya’s political chaos seems to have been settled for now according to friends’ emails. But with its tourism-dependent economy in shambles, Kenya is a reminder how fragile even one of the most stable African countries is.
February 19, 2008 - Culture Shock in February 2008 Not November 2007 Looking back to 3 months ago, it feels almost eerie how quickly we slipped back into our U.S. lives. It is amazing to think that we lived in Kenya for 10 months and Swaziland for over 5 months until November 17, 2007. Thrown right into Thanksgiving and Christmas, being with family, and traveling through several airports between coasts, we oddly felt at home right away. My
anticipated culture shock set in as we re-started our social network after the
New Year. By early January, as the Kenyan elections burst open the gates of
hatred, everyone we met—and we—were certainly glad we were in the U.S. Each of
the many conversations we’ve had with friends and family continues to sensitize
us to the situations of friends and colleagues we left behind to deal with
terror on their streets. We have emailed back and forth with many Kenyans. We
have tracked the Kenyan-on-Kenyan violence on the internet. We are happy that no
one we know was personally threatened. The TechnoServe office in Kenya opened
the 7th January week, shut down again throughout the month, and is
officially back in business in February.
January, 2008 - My Perspective on Africa in 2006 - 2007 vs. My Father’s from 1943 – 1945 I had wanted to live abroad since the 1980s, envisioning our view of a European, Asian or maybe Latin American capital from a high rise or picturesque flat. However, as Rick seriously started exploring his career change to international economic development it was clear that neither Hong Kong nor Paris truly needs our help to improve their economies nor do nonprofits underwrite 4-star dinners. I recognized that we would just continue to travel as tourists to those kinds of locales. On the other hand, Africa clearly needs enormous economic, health, and social support. In addition, from the time I was a little girl, my father's pictures, stories, and having a pet monkey when he was stationed there from 1943 to 1945, had always inspired me to want to visit Africa. Rick’s and my 1997 safari in East Africa reinforced this connection so our living in Africa seemed a logical extension. Now in retrospect after living in Swaziland and Kenya for nearly 1.5 years and traveling to several of the same countries as my father, my perspective and experience seem even more profoundly related to my father’s. Ashley Woodrow Rice, my father, was a 24 year old lieutenant, cargo pilot, and small base commander in the Air Force (formerly the Army Air Corps). www.walleigh.com now has a long page of black and white photos from his World Word II tour of duty across Africa where the Allies were fighting General Rommel a.k.a. "Desert Fox." It is truly amazing how many countries he visited during his 2 years: Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo or D.R.C.), Cameroons, Egypt, French Equatorial Africa (now Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville & Gabon), Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Palestine (Israel), Tanganyika (Tanzania) and Uganda. The wild animals, the fabulous landscapes, and people’s warmth are the same. And nowadays many countries have instituted free universal primary school education relatively recently—some have secondary also. Cities have modern-looking buildings, relatively new cars, electricity, running water, retail stores, decent hospitals/clinics, and people nicely dressed in Western-style. However, in 2007 we also saw life unchanged since 1945: people dressed in ragged clothes, living in small un-electrified villages, and eking out subsistence-level crops from tiny farms. They carry for miles on the tops of their heads the water, firewood, and food for their families. They have little access or finances for good healthcare so they still die mainly from malaria, water-born diarrhea, and respiratory diseases with the added “bonus” of HIV/AIDS. Since my father died at age 54 when I was 26, I can only imagine his soldier’s perspective of helping the continent remain free of Nazis, periodically being faced with military danger, yet feeling lucky to travel and experience so many different places “on the other side of the world.” I wonder how he viewed colonialism’s role in continuing the cycle of poverty and poor health since independence was still many years in the future. I suspect that he saw the many different tribal cultures and conditions as quaint and fascinating. I know he enjoyed getting to know people in their own contexts. Many of my father’s pictures were in my mind when we were on safari in 1997. I remember thinking that only Nairobi had changed since 1945 and that much of our travels in Kenya and Tanzania were just 4-color versions of his photos. Now in 2008 after our 1.5 years living in Africa, once again I reviewed my father’s pictures. Despite the scenery and economics being not much changed in Africa since 1945, both Rick and I idealistically feel that at least in small ways, we personally made a difference in some lives that we touched. I imagine my father would have had complex, even conflicted thoughts and feelings similar to mine. I would have loved the many energetic discussions exchanging our perspectives. Now I recognize fully how much of a life-changing experience my father’s 2 years in Africa--as a very young man--must have been. It certainly was for me even at my age. FOR PRIOR WALLEIGH BLOGS, GO TO BLOG 2009, BLOG 2007 AND BLOG 2006. |
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