I'm coming Home!

This is the segment from the newscast in Kenya where they covered the inaugural Watoto Marathon, the culmination of my efforts with the kids in Ilula. If you have been reading my blog, you already know all about it. Sorry, it is in Kiswahili, but I think you will get it anyway.

Wow, where do I even begin? I am sitting in my aunt and uncle’s house outside of Brussels right now, where I will be staying for the next week. This marks the first time in about four weeks that I will sleep in one place for more than 2 nights. I have been in 11 countries during that time, and have enjoyed every single one of them in a unique way according to what they offer. I have met many wonderful people along the way, but most importantly had many hours of solitude on trains and walking around unfamiliar streets to let my mind go in a passive effort to process my thoughts and feelings after nine months of intensity. I will admit that the first few weeks were difficult for me psychologically as I battled with myself about why it was or was not alright for me to enjoy the many luxuries I did while I had left behind a whole population of people who were still stuck in their situation, many of whom will be for the rest of their lives. I have stayed in touch with them through email as best as I can, and it eases my mind and heart to know that most of them are doing very well. I think the best thing I can do at this point is to share my experiences with everyone that will listen in hopes that they will become inspired to find a way to positively impact someone else’s life. So after four weeks of that, I now have a solid week to actively organize as many of my thoughts and feelings as I can before going back to Seattle, where I will be confronted with a whole new set of challenges as I reenter what used to be my familiar and comfortable life. I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am to see all of my dear friends back there. My plan is to spend a couple weeks there before going back to Salem to spend a couple weeks with my family and friends there, and finally down to Los Angeles for yet another couple weeks with another group of friends from college. So even as I prepare for very welcome stability in my life, it appears that it will elude me again for at least the next couple months. That is a small price to pay for much needed time with the people closest to me, as far as I am concerned.

My mom and I standing on the top of Germany. We went up to a mountain in the Alps known simply as Zugspitze

Yesterday I finished writing up my report on my time in Kenya, and it became very clear to me how much deeper my understanding of the issues of poverty has become with each successive stop on my journey thus far. I was able to draw on my time in New York and Central America each day I was in Africa, and as I wrote the report I found myself much more easily able to articulate what was happening there and why. While in Central America and Africa I read 3 books that took an academic look at issues related to poverty and development, and I am just finishing another one while here in Europe. Combining the information in those books with the experiences of the past nine months really made for an effective crash course in global poverty, which will serve me well as I now look to return to the states and engage in purposeful dialogue with experts and others who are as passionate about it as we are at ERace Poverty. I know how important it will be to create partnerships with organizations that have good intentions and a good understanding of the implications of their programs, and I am much more prepared to make such a decision now. It has become very clear that just doing something to help is better than doing nothing; however, doing something that is most needed in the best way possible is much better than simply giving money blindly to an organization that is asking for it. This is what ERace will offer to its racers though our future partnerships. From the beginning, it was our mission to do the appropriate research to confidently offer organizations doing the very best work in their respective programs. Through my own experience with charitable donations, and especially though conversations with hundreds of people all over the globe, I have come to understand that the assurance of ethical and efficient use of donated money, along with a personal connection to the organization or its initiative, are the main concerns of anyone making a donation. ERace Poverty offers both assurance and personal connection to anyone who is willing to invest a little time and physical effort. Anyone, literally anyone, can train for and complete a half marathon or more, and if they do not have a trusted organization they already support, we will have plenty for them to choose from. They will even be able to see the specific projects the money they raised has made possible through updates from our partners. The best part is that we give any individual the power to easily raise awareness and thousands of dollars for those organizations through their efforts, and to pass on the same power to anyone and everyone they know. I cannot tell you how excited I am about the potential we see for our involvement in the fight against global poverty, and how incredibly motivated I am to realize that potential after the past nine months.

Standing on the Western edge of Italy, beginning my hike along the Mediterranean through the five villages of Cinque Terre

How about some final thoughts on Africa? Now that I have been away from it for a little while and have had some time to really think about it, I feel like I can articulate a little bit of what I was experiencing while I was there. The following is an excerpt from my final summary in my Kenya report. It is after all the boring details and is where I give my personal reactions and thoughts.

“The poverty I experienced in East Africa is easily the most perplexing to this point. There appear to be many easily identifiable causes with seemingly easy cures. But when those cures are implemented, they just don’t work in the way or on the scale that is predicted by experts. The prevalence of disease is definitely unique to this continent in its struggle against poverty, not only in terms of contraction but also, and especially, in terms of death rates. There are well known and available cures and treatments for the diseases ravaging the Sub-Saharan African population, being HIV/AIDS, malaria, diarrhea, tuberculosis, and pneumonia, but for some not-so-simple reasons those treatments are not becoming readily available to the millions who are suffering at any given time. This creates an almost palpable sense of uncertainty and uneasiness in the day to day life of everyone there, all of whom will almost certainly deal with one or more of those diseases every single year. It also creates an environment that perpetuates the cycle of poverty through low productivity of workers, rapidly increasing population, high cost of basic healthcare, and an overall depressed population…

Despite all its challenges, East Africa is a beautiful and special place. The people there are some of the warmest, friendliest, and most social people I have ever spent time with. As a guest in someone’s home, you will always receive a cup of chai and will be cared for as a person. They have dreams and great ideas, but most lack the resources to achieve them. Many people are forced to make the decision between principle and survival, and sadly most that choose the former end up dying a quiet and mostly unnoticed death. Change will come in this region, and it will start from within, but it will ultimately demand resources from abroad to achieve the kind of sweeping change that is needed. If the very capable people in this region secure the resources for the figurative ball of change just to start rolling, I truly believe they will carry it through and we will see a region transformed just during my lifetime. Many of them are fighting and scratching for survival each day in hopes of seeing the day that brings that ball rolling into their village, and I hope we will do whatever we can to make their fight worth it.”

Me with a solid grip on the Berlin Wall, well at least what remains of it.

I don’t think I have much else for you at this point, but I know I will soon see a lot of you who are reading this, which is very exciting for me. Again, I want to say thank you to all of you who have been reading my blog and caring enough about me or what I am doing to stay involved throughout the process. It means a lot to me to know that there are people like you that continue to encourage and motivate me to keep going. This was easily the most challenging experience of my young life, and I don’t know how far I would have made it without my family and friends cheering from the sidelines. My main challenge now lies in readjusting to what used to be normal when I return to Seattle, and also in figuring out how to use all these experiences in a positive way once I get there. I am trying to answer the questions of who I am now and what my most important values are, and how to apply those values to daily life in the states. I think the past four weeks have served me well in preparation for answering such questions and meeting that challenge, but at this point I have learned that it will be more challenging in different ways that I have prepared myself for. I have a meeting soon after I return to Seattle with an organization that I hope to accompany on a trip to India and Bangladesh later this year to check in on their water and sanitation projects. The adventure never ceases, does it? I guess that is a good thing, but at this point I sure am ready to see some familiar faces and eat some of my mom’s famous cooking. I just want to mention quickly that I have used my own savings for food and entertainment while in Europe, and my rail pass was paid for by my family, so please rest assured that all the donations we received have been used only for organizational development and expenses directly related to my volunteerism and education. My hope is that many of you or people you know will become involved in our programs at ERace Poverty, or find another way to give hope to people who otherwise have very little. If you would like to get involved, all you need to do is send a quick email to jbates@eracepoverty.org and we will get you all set up and ready to go. Final farewell from abroad, and as always, be good to yourself and those around you.

It's All Over

Me with three Masai men I met on my way out of Masai Mara. They have set up a health clinic in their village, which gave us a lot to talk about.

I am writing this on Tuesday the 12th from my friend’s living room in Nairobi, though I don’t know exactly when or where I will be able to post it. The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind that has had me sleeping in four different districts in the country, which I think is just a warm-up for the next month. Unfortunately, much of my last week in Ilula I was very sick, maybe as a result of my attempt to live authentically and eat those goat intestines I mentioned last time. I was bed ridden for almost three full days before I decided to start taking the antibiotics I was given prior to leaving Seattle. This quickly cleared up the problem and by the weekend I was back on my feet, just in time for me to enjoy my first African wedding. It was a lovely wedding that was actually fairly similar to the American weddings I have been to, with a few different customs and a lot more singing and dancing. My time in Ilula wrapped up nicely with a presentation of all my photos from Kenya for the children and staff to see, followed by a wonderful farewell party. Everyone was at this party, even those from the surrounding community that I had connected with, most of whom are runners. They generously presented gifts for my family and me, and even more generously presented many very nice speeches about my time there with them. Holding back my tears as I listened to their speeches and as I addressed them all for the last time was very difficult, but it was a perfect way to conclude my time with them.

Me addressing the group at my farewell party, wearing and holding some of the gifts I received from my family in Kenya.

The very next day I found myself face to face with the immense wildlife of Masai Mara. In just two days there, I observed lions, elephants, buffalo, rhinos, cheetahs, leopards, giraffes, hyenas, wart hogs, zebras, ostriches, hippos, crocodiles, and scores of different antelope and bird species, all in their natural environment. When I say I observed them, I mean that I was literally close enough to softly speak to them and catch their attention. I watched a lion and cheetah hunt, both of wart hogs and both unsuccessful, and even was charged by a testy and protective elephant. Being with these animals in their natural environment has helped me to understand the traditional tribal cultures that are still present throughout the country. Perhaps the best part of my time in Masai Mara was talking to the local Masai people and getting to know their living situations and beliefs a little bit. These people are the most traditional of the major tribes in Kenya, and they are living in a remote area with very few of the luxuries we consider standard. They do not have electricity or running water in their villages, and they cannot farm at all due to the presence of the animals. They arrange their villages in circles with a double layer living fence to protect from lions and hyenas, among others. Cows, which sleep inside the protected circular arrangement to avoid being hunted by lions at night, are a huge and important part of their culture. They told me that they do not count their cows for fear that they will curse their herd, but having 200-300 is about average for a family. The Masai people are also known for their beautiful clothing and beaded jewelry and their remarkable jumping ability, which comes from the nature of their long-practiced tribal ceremonies. Understanding the people of Africa without understanding their connection to nature is impossible, and so I am thankful to have had this opportunity.

Three lionesses with a cub and a recent buffalo kill in Masai Mara.

From there, it was back to Nairobi, which at times feels a bit like a mid-sized American city. There are a few big buildings, traffic jams, restaurants serving any kind of food you could want, and loads of white people. There is a huge influx of people from rural areas that are moving into the city in hopes of finding good jobs and living in nice homes, which is pretty standard in any urban center in a developing country. The problem I have seen with this is that most of these cities have no regulations on emissions from vehicles or factories, and insufficient or nonexistent waste disposal systems. As you can imagine and may have experienced, if you combine the above, you get a feeling of suffocation and claustrophobia; at least I do. They do not even have any sort of system set up for recycling the incredible amount of plastic and paper they use in production and transportation. This is unbelievable to me for a city with a population of around 4 million people, who all get multiple unnecessary plastic bags each time they visit even a small kiosk. While in Nairobi and Mombasa I get the same feeling that I got when I first visited Eldoret, but on a much larger scale. Mombasa is a beautiful coastal city, with numerous gorgeous mosques and stunning white sand beaches. Unfortunately, they have an even worse case of the same issue that Nairobi has, which we noticed as we stood on the rocky edge of the Indian Ocean and were sickened by the amount of trash floating in the water. There is so much potential in these cities, but the people developing them only see the positive financial increases instead of the budding and soon to be paralyzing environmental effects of those financial increases. Honestly, I can’t really blame them for their perspective, but I try to nicely give them my two cents when I get the opportunity, and I always get weird looks at stores when I tell them I will carry my purchases without a bag.

Three elephants of a huge herd we encountered. I was told that they rub the bark of trees with their skin and tusks to the point that trees this size simply fall over.

Although breathing the air in Mombasa was not always easy, I did thoroughly enjoy the couple days I was able to spend there. Getting there is a mostly smooth 8-hour bus ride from Nairobi, but when you enter the city you feel like you have just crossed the ocean and come into a Middle Eastern city. The call to prayer coming from the city’s countless mosques fills the streets five times per day. A majority of the people you run into when walking through the crowded city are dressed in their respective Muslim attire. Even the Kiswahili that is spoken is a little different from what I learned in Ilula. Though it looked and felt differently than all other places I have been in Africa, the friendly nature of the people was still present and very noticeable. I stayed with some friends I met in Nairobi a few months back, and had a really great time. They are an American family who are staying in Mombasa as they prepare for a mission assignment on Pemba Island. They showed me around the city and even took me for a tour of Fort Jesus and a day at the beach, including a few hours of snorkeling. We talked at length about the path that brought each of us to this point in our lives, and I was able to ask a lot of questions about microfinance programs, which is what they specialize in. I have found that I get so energized and inspired when I have such conversations in this type of context. When I spend time with people who are experts in fields that can help lift people, like many of those I have lived with over the past months, out of impoverished and hopeless situations, I become that much more motivated to get home and involve thousands of others in supporting them.

Two cheetahs on their way past us to hunt a just sensed wart hog.

As the time approaches for me to return home and start the process of involving all those people in what I have just been through, I am becoming overwhelmed. In the past two weeks, despite all the distractions and fun, I have been feeling confused and down a lot. As I read back through my journal, I noticed that the couple weeks surrounding each of my major transitions from place to place produced the same sort of psychological state. I am a very introspective and self-critical person, sometimes to a fault, which is magnified by transitional circumstances. My whole life playing competitive sports has produced a very goal-oriented mindset that causes me to overlook the journey or process in order to completely concentrate on the end goal. When I get to the end of this journey and discover that the end is itself actually just the beginning to a new journey, it produces feelings of emptiness and failure. Though I understand that this feeling is not accurate, it is present nonetheless, and is getting me down whenever I have a few minutes of quiet time. There are so many things I will discover and be able to use positively as I have a chance to really get away and process it all. I just wish right now I could verbalize even 10% of what I am feeling. I remain excited about the next process of sharing this experience with everyone who will listen and signing up as many people as possible for Team ERace. What is now really hard for me to believe is that I am leaving Africa in two days and working my way back to Seattle, which is a day that still feels like it will never come. Until that day, all I really can say with any certainty is that I love Africa and will do everything in my power to come back here as soon as possible. My heart is now spread out all over the world with people of every race, gender, and class. The beautiful thing, as my mom told me once, is that love is not finite; we do not have a limited amount inside each of us to divvy up as we see fit. In fact, it is more like a perpetual spring flowing from our heart that is always available to be given 100% to anyone and anything. I will leave you with that thought from Africa. Please be good to yourselves and those around you, and please, please don’t keep your love all to yourself.