Pre- Departure

Welcome to my blog!! (I never thought I'd have one of these!)

So, I leave for Kenya in 20 days. I'm starting this blog so I can keep my friends and family updated on my daily adventures for the next 3 (or so) months. For those of you who don't know, I will be going to Mombasa, Kenya with an organization called Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) (www.fsdinternational.org). FSD is kind of an umbrella organization that places interns in grass-roots organizations throughout the world.
I will be working with a faith based NGO called Hope Worldwide (www.hopeww.org). This organization has a very holistic approach towards community development, as it covers health promotion, health services, capacity building and economic empowerment. Some of the specific programs include HIV prevention (something that I anticipate I will be very involved in), economic empowerment (through vocational and entrepreneurial skills training and income generation activities with local/international organizations---something I am also interested in), orphans and vulnerable children's care and support, and blood safety.
As a student of global development and international public health, I have learned to pay close attention to who the donors and financial supporters are of NGOs in the developing world. These people are very important because they often control what the organizations can say and do. That said, it will be interesting to work with Hope Worldwide and see how the Christian faith, as well as the various corporations that support the organization, mold and shape the messages and the services they provide. For example, Hope Worldwide is funded, in part, by Freddie Mac and Wal-mart...
As most of you know, I am not particularly religious (that is lightly put) and I really disagree in supporting huge corporations such as Freddie Mac and Wal-mart (both of whom have not had very good "track-records" of late). This experience will definitely give me some much needed practice in keeping an open-mind and (this is for Andrew) biting my tongue when necessary.

FSD also places interns with a host family near their place of work. Unfortunately, I still don't know who my host family will be, but I did request that there were some children in the family. Kids are always fun and they definitely brighten up the atmosphere.
So, by now it must seem that I will be completely on my own in a foreign country, with no other American contacts. But fear not! Every week all the interns meet with our FSD site team and have a seminar. We will learn different things about the field of global development, as well as (what I'm particularly excited about) grant writing!! Such a crucial skill to have.

All in all, I'm SUPER excited. I think I'm most looking forward to actually getting to know the people and the culture of Kenya, as well as being able to do something tangible and concrete to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. I am also excited to meet my host family and the other FSD interns.

This will definitely be an adventure...one that I feel SO ready to embark on.
Stay tuned!!

With love,
Anna