First stop: Nairobi!

First stop: Nairobi!  Nairobi, Kenya is city I wanted to visit immediately upon graduation from college, but the opportunity to study communication there fell through. I was excited to finally get to this place after so long!

Amazing people in ordinary places.

One of the amazing things about travel to Africa is the number of amazing people I meet on the way.  I arrived at O'Hare airport's International terminal, and immediately began meeting amazing people.

I approached the nearly empty ticket counter for KLM.  A smartly uniformed young woman motioned for me to come over to the ticketing kiosk by which she stood. "I will help you, sir...may I see your passport?"  Within minutes of that welcome offer to provide assistance, I had, without any request on my part, been re-assigned to an exit aisle seat. "You are amazing!" I told her as I walked away.  This was starting out to be a great trip.

While packing for the trip to Southern Sudan, I learned about this opportunity!

The Sudan Challenge is Global Business Assist's campaign to start empowerment programs in Southern Sudan -- efforts that enable Sudanese families to have sustainable income through small businesses.  These next two weeks, I am going to be in Sudan helping set up the first micro-finance project in Bar El Ghazal (see map)

The publishers of PARADE magazine, along with the Facebook Causes, have started a giving challenge, which will grant $50,000 to the charity that can log the most donation transactions between now and midnight, November 6.

weaving friendship

Monday morning we drove out to Nsuta to visit Mama Rose's school; this would be my second visit, and I was returning almost one year later to the day.  I paid little attention to the countryside as the driver sped along at 50 mph on an unmarked road lined with pedestrians on either side.