Am I really doing this?

On Monday I leave on my African adventure.  My plan is to blog on an occasional basis but let’s set clear expectations here—don’t be looking for deep philosophical musings (although I might get lucky now and then) but rather a place to keep friends and family updated on my journey.  I pray for a decent internet connection.

For those that haven’t had the opportunity to listen to me babble on and on about my trip, I am headed to Rwanda until the end of February (and then on to Uganda through March).  In Rwanda I will be living at an orphanage helping on a couple of different projects.  L’Esperance   http://www.lesperancerwanda.org/  is located in the southwestern part of Rwanda on the shore of Lake Kivu.  Victor, the director of the orphanage, has a vision to make the orphanage less reliant on charitable giving and more self-sustaining.  To that end, they have planted an orchard with the goal of exporting dried fruit for sale.  I will be helping with the marketing strategy around that.  There is also a group based in Boulder, http://www.icatis.org/birambye that has plans to build an eco-lodge near the orphanage with the profits going to fund the education and health care of the children along with providing jobs and training for the local community.  I will be assisting them with the business aspect and fundraising.   And if all works out my good friend, Pam Clark, will be joining me for the last two weeks at the orphanage bringing her extensive LMSW and family preservation experience.

Many, many, thanks to my friend, Elliot Goldman, for introducing me to Victor.  I knew I wanted to travel to Africa and volunteer, but that is one big continent with endless numbers of NGOs and other non-profits.  I was overwhelmed by the choices but once I started corresponding with Victor I knew it was a fit.

In March, I hope to be joining a group of business leaders from Denver, lead by Jamie Van Leeuwen and his Global Livingston Institute, traveling primarily in Uganda.  We will start in Kampala and visit a group working in the slums there and then travel north to Lira to visit a child soldier rehabilitation center and refugee camp.   We will then head to the northeastern part of Rwanda to visit a school and tea plantation, plus get a little gorilla trekking in.  My desire is to go back to Kampala at the end of this trip and volunteer there.  

And now thanks go to the fabulous Jayne Buck for introducing me to Jamie.

All I can think is that this is my ‘semester abroad’ or my Peace Corp—whatever it was that I didn’t do in my 20s because I wasn’t ready.  Maybe the biggest thanks go to my former employer for laying me off after 19 years with a pretty decent severance.  It has allowed me to take the time to figure out what I want to do with this next part of my life and although I haven’t totally answered that question yet, I look forward to the insight these next three months will provide.

So I’m packed and ready—I think.  I’m comfortable with the fact that there will be endless bad hair days and no makeup (I am a Colorado girl after all) but the scarcity of wine is a bit more concerning.  And of course, I’m in total denial about the fact that I won’t get to see my Willie for three months.  But he has Justin to look after him and the neighbors checking in as well, so I know he will be well taken care of and probably won’t miss me a fraction of what I will miss him.        

Please feel free to comment on any or all of my blog posts, or email me at jeanann927@yahoo.com as my guess is l am going to get a little starved for friend contact and news from the first world.  Thanks for your interest in my journey.