Keely arrived in Nairobi from Arusha, Tanzania on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday evening, I overheard her exclaim on Skype, “Nairobi is just like New York, Mom!” Since they arrived a couple weeks ago, Eric and Adrien (Acumen Fund colleagues and friends) and I have made the same comment to each other. To explain how we could possibly say something like this, especially when everything you read in the U.S. papers about Nairobi indicates the opposite; I will recount the activities of the past three days.

Friday morning I was picked up by the ABE driver at 7:45 and brought to the office, 20 minutes away. I took a lunch break with my colleague Lisa to pick up some groceries and try on a few clothes at a cute new shop at the mini-mall close to our office. I left the office around 6:30 p.m., got a ride home with the driver (stopping on the way to buy some lilies on the side of the road). After resting a bit at my apartment, I walked over to Eric’s apartment (a block away), with my English neighbor, Matt to have a glass of wine before driving with my colleague, Lisa and her friend to a party across town at Erin and Elana’s apartment. There were about 30 people at the party, and I found almost all of my friends there. We drank some rum and cokes, ate a bit of pita and hummus, and danced to Shakira. We left the party at about 12:30 for Casablanca, a Moroccan-style bar and club where we spent the next couple hours drinking Tusker beer and dancing to hip hop. Home by 2:30 a.m.

Saturday morning, I walked to Eric’s apartment for breakfast and spent the morning running errands in the neighborhood. We returned to his apartment and swam laps in his pool for about half an hour before Keely arrived. After catching up for a bit, we walked a block to Sarit Center to pick up some iced coffee before our one-hour Swahili lesson at 5 p.m. After class, Keely and I went back to my place to get ready and went to About Thyme for dinner, a cute continental-style restaurant with tables outside. We then met my friend, Erica, at the Serena Hotel for a bit of salsa dancing, which was followed by a bit more dancing and another Tusker at Klubhouse, a bar/club designed like a treehouse. Home by 2 a.m.

Sunday morning, Keely and I were out the door by 10 to go to the gym in Eric’s apartment building. For lunch, we went to Java House, an American-style coffeeshop and restaurant, where we ate huevos rancheros and breakfast burritos. Our afternoon included a visit to the giraffe sanctuary followed by a bloody mary at Talisman, a quiet outdoor restaurant in the Nairobi suburb of Karen (named after Karen Blixen, the author of “Out of Africa”. We took our taxi, which had been with us for the day, to the Arboretum, where we met several other friends for the Cape Town Opera’s performance of Porgy and Bess.

To be honest, my life here is not much different, in many ways, than it would be in the U.S. When I lived in Hyderabad, I felt like there were many sacrifices I had to make and life was much more difficult than I was accustomed to. Nairobi is much easier and it truly is possible to build a very comfortable, enjoyable life for oneself here. As always, visitors are welcome!

More photos here.

Before I left for Kenya, I bought a pair of Ecosandals off the internet. Before shipping the flip flops, the Kenyan sandalmaker, sent me an email introducing himself and explaining the story of Ecosandals. I was excited to hear about another Nairobi-based social enterprise and replied to the email asking if I could visit the project. Several emails and a few months later, I had the opportunity to visit the sandalmakers in their workshop and see their homes.

Ecosandals was started by a few Kenya-born U.S. residents and their friends. They managed to get media coverage very early on and started selling their handmade sandals made from recycled tires to the U.S. and European markets, mainly over the internet. After having some trouble keeping up with the demand and delivering on-time, the company refocused their efforts on the local market and downsized from about 30 to 6 sandalmakers.

The sandalmakers are young men and women from the Korogocho shantytown on the east side of the Nairobi. They learn how to make the sandals and take continuing education classes in the evening and eventually earn high school diplomas. The sandalmakers develop business skills and now run the enterprise themselves. Sales are currently low, but the products are great and I see real potential for this company to grow.

I returned home after my visit excited about the project and interested in finding a way to help. After a few additional conversations with Becky, one of the board members, I decided to volunteer a few hours a week and write grant proposals and try to increase sales in the U.S. or at high-end Nairobi shops. With even $10,000, Ecosandals could expand their production capacity and increase sales.

I know that most people are not thinking about buying flip flops at the moment. However, I encourage you to check out the website and order yourself or someone else a pair. The profit for the sandalmakers on each pair is significant and truly does improve the lives of their families and community. To find out more and order sandals, click here.

Picture below of Ecosandals board member, Becky, Director of Sales, Roselyne, and sandalmaker Michael and his grandmother at their house.

The first full weekend Adrien and Eric were in Nairobi, we decided to take an overnight trip to Lake Nakuru. Our original plan was to stay at Lake Nakuru or Naivasha, but we found the lodges in those areas to be quiet expensive. We decided to save some money and stay at Lake Baringo Club, which while further than Naivasha or Nakuru, our travel agent assured us was only 3 1/2 hours away (maximum). Eight hours later, we finally arrived at Lake Baringo. Fortunately, we were able to entertain ourselves quiet well with itunes and crazy car games created by Eric.

The geysers and flamingos at Lake Bagoria, the hippos and crocodiles at Lake Baringo, and the rhinos, giraffes, buffalo, and other game at Lake Nakuru were spectacular and certainly worth the trip. The drive through the Rift Valley was beautiful and we were even able to stop at the Ecuator to see a "water demonstration" showing the gravitational pull at north and south sides of the Ecuator.

Check out the photos.

A couple exciting pieces on Acumen Fund's work have appeared in the media recently. It's encouraging to see the mainstream media picking up these types of stories.

Click here for a story in the Financial Times.
Click here for an NPR interview with Jacqueline Novogratz.

Advanced Bio-Extracts Limited (ABE) has spent the past two years planning and building a state of the art factory in Athi River, about an hour outside Nairobi. The factory opened two weeks ago and has now produced about 750 kilograms of pure artemisinin.

ABE contracts with more than 7,000 farmers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to grow Artemisia alongside their maize, tea, coffee, pineapples, etc. The Artemisia is shipped from the collection points throughout East Africa to the factory in Athi River where it is processed from dried leaf to a pure, white powder. The powder is then packed into plastic containers and sent to China where it is used in ACTs to treat malaria. ABE currently produces 50,000 – 100,000 malaria treatments each day.

I’m proud to be part of a company that is making a difference on such a large scale. There are 300 – 500 million of acute cases of malaria each year, resulting in more than a million deaths a year. About 90 percent of these deaths occur in Africa, mainly in young children. The World Health Organization recommends the use of artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) and has initiated an aggressive program to accelerate the transition to ACTs. Natural artemisinin is a key element in the production of low-cost, effective malaria treatments and the need for artemisinin is rapidly growing.

Some things are easy in the developing world. In my experience, finding an apartment seems to be one of them. Last week I moved into a fully-furnished studio apartment in Westlands, a great neighborhood in Nairobi. I looked at several places and on Tuesday called this one to ask if I could move in on Wednesday. No problem. I called the manager of the apartment where I had been staying to tell her I was moving out the next day. No problem. Wednesday evening, I moved my suitcases across town and picked up the keys after signing a short lease agreement and paying one month’s rent. No deposit, no background check, no application. Easy.

While one could describe the new apartment as dingy, I love it. The combination of the wireless internet and landline at home and being located 3 blocks from a large shopping center with a grocery store, gym, movie theater, and restaurants makes me feel much more connected to the world and happier to be in Nairobi. The swimming pool in the middle of the complex certainly doesn’t hurt, especially since the weather is so beautiful; it’s a real treat to spend time sitting outside reading on a weekend afternoon. And, that, is exactly what I did on Saturday and Sunday.

The new apartment

My former employer and one of my favorite social enterprises, Scojo Foundation, was recently featured in an article in the Economist which does a good job describing its innovative model. In two years, Scojo Foundation has figured out how to deliver reading glasses to people in India, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and Bangladesh who really need them to maintain their livelihoods (weavers, tailors, electricians, etc.).

Click here to read the article online.
Click here to read a pdf of the article.

The new year has brought some changes for me in Nairobi and I have decided to move from SHEF to Advanced Bio-Extracts Limited (ABE), another Acumen Fund investee. Recent leadership changes at SHEF meant that the opportunity to receive the mentorship I was looking for was lacking and that the impact I could make during this transition period might not be as great as I had hoped.

I am now working with ABE (also in Nairobi), an agribusiness that grows and processes Artemisinin, the primary ingredient in malaria medication (ACTs). My assignment is to develop ABE's standard operating procedures and do some work with the financial model. More information about ABE and Artemisinin here.

I started at ABE on Wednesday, and so far things are going well. I am now looking for a new apartment closer to the office. Fortunately, I have become very accostomed to change since I left DC, 2 1/2 years ago, and am actually excited by this turn of events.

On my first attempt at editing a video, I realized how difficult and time-consuming it is. However, I did have fun doing it and am sure there will be more of these in the future.

Thanks to the Petersmeyer Family Foundation, Acumen provided us with video cameras for the year. This short film is composed of footage from the field while visiting CFW Community Clinics.

CFW Community Clinics video

After spending 10 wonderful days in Amsterdam with my family wandering the streets, visiting cafes, and exploring museums, it was hard to come back to Nairobi where I still don’t feel completely settled. Fortunately, I had lined up another trip and as soon as I arrived, I left for Arusha to visit Acumen Fund fellow, Keely Stevenson. I arrived at Keely’s apartment after a five hour bus ride and we left for a safari to Ngorongoro Crater the next morning.

Keely and I brought in the new year at a campground on the rim of the crater. A group of Americans hosted an impromptu dance party around their campfire and we happily joined the celebration. We spent New Years day driving into and around the floor of the crater and spotting animals. With the steep walls and flat, bright green floor, the crater is truly a spectacular site. It was incredible to see the wildlife and explore such a magnificent place. After two days, I felt refreshed, invigorated, and so fortunate to be living in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Animals we saw on safari include: lion, buffalo, eland, wildebeest, white rhino, Thomson gazelle, zebra, grand gazelle, hyena, wild boar, golden jackal, cheetah, vervet monkey, hippo, baboon, hadada ibis, maribu stork, cattle egret, yellow-bill stork, flamingo, Egyptian goose, blacksmith plover, crown crane, hartbeast, guinea flowl, koribastard, black-bellied bastard, pelican, and dung beetle.

Photos from Amsterdam
Photos from Ngorongoro Crater

Two months ago, I posted information about the Treehugger and Slate Green Challenge and committed to reduce my carbon emissions.

I would like to report that I reduced my emissions by 14,090 pounds of CO2 over the past 8 weeks which is equivalent to taking 1.44 cars off the road. During this time, I reduced my emissions by 28%.

I encourage you all to sign up for the Green Challenge and join me in considerably reducing your emissions.

Last week, my friend, Erica, and I decided to buy $6 tickets for a “Village Christmas” a concert at a park in downtown Nairobi. Naturally, since the concert was to begin at 5 p.m., Erica and I dutifully showed up at 5 p.m. We soon realized that the stage was still being set-up and that the concert was a long way from starting.

The concert finally began at 6:45 with a group called Hip Hope, Christian rappers. Not only was the music bad, it in no way resembled Christmas carols. We held out for the second band, which included supposedly the best jazz pianist in East Africa. Again, a disappointing act. Except for one East African song, the group specialized in generic, elevator jazz. And, no Christmas carols. We then endured a 20 minute sermon about the generosity of the event’s sponsors, Coke and GM and an introduction to corporate social responsibility, which is far less discreet here than in the U.S. At this point, Erica and I decided to cut our losses. It had been three hours, we sat through the sets of two bad bands, and had heard no Christmas music. We figured we’d rather go for dinner followed, perhaps, by some salsa dancing.

On our way out, we noticed people covering their eyes and mouths with their scarves. We heard a few people mention tear gas and simultaneously felt our eyes and noses start stinging. Apparently, there was a riot somewhere downtown and the teargas was had made its way to us.

Walking through downtown, we passed a Kenyan restaurant on the way to a favorite Italian restaurant and decided to check it out. About 20 minutes after we had arrived, Erica checked for her bag which had been hung under her jacket on the back of her chair and realized it was missing. Apparently, a man and woman followed us into the restaurant, took a table next to ours, grabbed the bag, and walked out. In Kenya, there’s really nothing you can do when these things happen. So, after dinner, we walked around downtown, looking for the bag on the off chance the thieves took out the money, camera, and phone and ditched the rest. No luck, of course,

One thing that really bothered me about this was that Erica and I had decided to venture outside of the safe, known expat restaurants to try a local place. As soon as we turned to enter, we were targeted, followed, and stolen from. This is not, of course, to say that the same thing would happen again. However, it certainly did not encourage us to wander outside our comfort zones. Living in Nairobi, one is constantly trying to balance living in fear and being realistic about the dangers. It would be easy to get carried away with paranoia. On the other hand, it’s important to be aware of the dangers. We can’t live locked up in our apartments every night, and we leave knowing these things can happen. We do what we can to avoid them, but sometimes we let down our guards, hoping we can trust that we’re safe.

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I’ve struggled with this blog entry because I don’t like its negativity. I wanted to end on a hopeful note, but really don’t know what to write. I talked this over with Erica on Sunday and decided to leave it be.

Life goes on though, and Sunday was a great day. I bought Christmas gifts at the Masaii market and met friends for lunch. We then went to a friend’s fashion show and spent the afternoon watching models prance around in Tereneh’s designer clothes, drinking wine, and meeting interesting people. All in a weekend in Nairobi.

Photos of Nairobi

I’ve found life in Nairobi to be fairly easy thus far. The weather is perfect everyday, rush hour traffic doesn’t exist for me because I walk to work, and I’ve found a reliable taxi company that I don’t have to fight with over fares. However, like in all developing countries, there are a few strange things I’ve found here.

1. Unlike in India, there are no beggars on the street knocking on your windows for a few coins. However, after you engage in a conversation or two, people have no problem asking you for money. After several innocuous conversations with one of the building’s guards, I found him at my apartment door asking for 2,000 Ksh ($25) to pay the balance for his driving lessons. Since I knew for a fact that my American neighbor had financed the driving school in full, I felt no guilt politely rejecting his request. Other requests for money have been made, one from an old village man who asked me to take his photo and then asked for money and from a women’s group whose meeting I had come to observe.

2. Unlike Hyderabad, there are so many expats in Nairobi. Many of these are NGO-types here for a few years on assignment. But, there is also a preponderance of white Kenyans or “KCs” Kenyan cowboys. These are primarily Brits whose families settled in Kenya during colonialism and have remained here, mostly living in the lush suburb of Karen (named after Out of Africa’s Karen Blixen). Because of all the muzungus, I don’t get gawked at like I did in Hyderabad, but at certain expat hang-outs, it can feel like you’re almost anywhere other than Africa.

3. Prostitution is completely open in Nairobi. As it gets later, beautiful, scantily-clad Kenyan women pour into the bar/clubs and seductively dance beside patrons. It’s not easy to miss the middle-aged white men beckon a woman of their choice and pull her onto the dance floor or motion for her to sit on their laps. For someone unused to seeing such things, it is quite disturbing to watch.

4. The shopping centers and grocery stores are amazing. While the high prices are sometimes prohibitive, you can find almost anything here (many brands of cereal, wasabi peas, imported cheese, nice wine…). Most shopping centers include one or two coffeeshops, many of them with wireless internet and menus with burgers and burritos. Movie theaters play several undubbed American films each week and the selection of nice restaurants is incredible.

Stay tuned for more notes on Nairobi

After being here for three weeks, I needed someone to talk to about how things were going and help me focus. I knew that I had taken on too much already but didn’t know what to do about it. Jacqueline’s visit was perfectly timed and the hours I spent in riding back from the field with her gave me the opportunity to talk through it all.

Jacqueline, Omer, and Andrea from Acumen Fund and three people from Google.org visited Nairobi this week and I was fortunate to spend time with them at three dinners and a day in the field visiting CFW community clinics. I became excited again about the SHEF model and was inspired by the stories of the nurses we listened to.

I spent time with people who were eager to learn and people who were optimistic and hopeful, while realizing that there are no easy answers. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the poverty and lack of resources and options for people in Kenya. But, it’s important for me to feel like there’s a difference that I can make.

I left dinner tonight feeling supported by my colleagues at Acumen and excited to put all I can into the work that I’m doing here. I need to focus on doing two or three things well that truly support this model and leave the other projects to the staff who will be here when I leave. Saying no and letting things go that I know I could fix is difficult for me. But, I know that if I continue to serve as reviewer of all documents and manager of all projects, I will leave here burnt out and feeling like I didn’t make a difference in any part of it.

I will take the direction that Jacqueline provided me and narrow down the scope of work I’m tackling. I will place a priority on my own professional development and feel supported in doing so. And, I will start tomorrow by making substantive contributions towards SHEF’s work by drafting the organization’s 2007 work plan.

We left for Embu yesterday around 8 a.m. and arrived at the SHEF regional office by 10. After saying hello to the field staff and dropping off about 300 roles of toilet paper and other assorted hygiene products, we headed off to meet with a women’s group about half an hour outside of town. One of SHEF’s community health workers is a member and was conducting an awareness campaign about malaria. The women meet weekly to discuss their issues and have formed a savings and loan organization which allows them to finance their children’s school fees which amount to almost $100/year per child.

The community health worker explained the causes and symptoms of malaria, discussed the importance of using bed nets and treating them with insecticide, and told the women about new malaria medicines. Because people have developed a resistance to many of the old medicines, new products are constantly introduced and now the WHO and the Government of Kenya only support the use of ACTs (artemisinin-based combination therapies). The medicine is supposed to be given for free at government clinics, but more frequently than not, they are out of stock and people are forced to pay full-price for these treatments (about $2) or use less effective drugs.

The women were very welcoming and receptive to the new health information. They promised to bring money to buy nets at their next meeting. Before we left, they cut down a bunch of about 100 bananas for us and sent us off with a song in Swahili.

In the afternoon, we stopped by another village with a SHEF clinic (CFW community clinic) to pick up another community health worker. The children of the village had never seen a muzungu (white person) and screamed in excitement and terror when they saw me. According to my colleagues, they think God is a white man and saw me as an angel, or something non-human. One boy, about 3 years old, started crying when he saw me. Some were a bit more courageous and were thrilled when I took photos of them and showed them the display on my camera.

We visited a second women’s group in another remote area where we had to leave the car and walk about 10 minutes to the meeting place. About 40 women had come together to support one woman whose child had recently undergone surgery. They listened attentively to the information about malaria prevention, detection, and treatment and we sold 56 Power Tabs (insecticide) for bednet re-treatment.

After a prayer and a cup of tea, we drove back to Nairobi and got home around 5:30 p.m. I find these days in the field so rewarding because I can see the difference that SHEF is making. Today, it was so clear how much confidence the community health workers have developed and how respected they are within their communities. Getting them to adopt a business mindset is a difficult challenge, but their hearts are in the right place and it’s clear how much pleasure they derive by helping their communities.

For more pictures, visit my photo gallery.