As Tuesday approaches in three days, I’m pinching myself to make sure that this isn’t a dream. Since accepting the offer to join an NGO in rural Kenya about two weeks ago, the days have become an endless loop of creating and completing to-do lists; lists made to be as prepared as possible (in the time I’ve had to do so) when leaving Australia. But whether they’ve prepared me for what’s to come is another question.
I’m very excited about the opportunities ahead. The organization currently has over 200 local staff running the program in Kenya and a similar operation exists in Rwanda. International expatriates only make up 6-8% of the staff, and are given significant responsibilities to design, trial, and implement systems or programs that go a fair way to improving the organization’s capabilities to serve its clients - smallholder farmers. It’s a funny world - the financial rewards are far less than corporate jobs in the U.S. or Australia, but you’re probably doing far more useful work and becoming a better leader here.
I reach my Kenyan residence (which is effectively the NGO headquarters, where other international staff live), located about a couple of hours from Kisumu, at about 8pm on Wednesday night. On Thursday, if I’m awake, I’ll hit the ground running with a warehouse visit and inventory training. In August I may go to Rwanda to familiarize myself with operations there, before we figure out where I should be placed in the longer-term.
Strangely enough, of all the NGOs and international organizations I’ve heard about and come across over the last year or so (while I completed a Master in Development Studies), this was my favourite. Of course, there are amazing organizations accomplishing great things, but I had also become increasingly interested in the causes of global hunger, and the significant disadvantages faced by smallholder farmers in the context of food security. It seemed ironic to me that of the billion people considered chronically hungry, half of them belong to farm families - whose primary activity is making food.
One Acre Fund seemed to be the only organization in the world with a holistic, comprehensive program model solely focussed on improving food security for smallholder farmers. When I saw a role that I thought I could fulfill in the organization, the application was a no-brainer. Luckily I got selected, so to not give it a go would be a wasted opportunity.
The transition from a beautiful cosmopolitan city to rural Kenya will have its challenges. I will miss the comfort of home and family, and the good times my friends provide here in Sydney. In Kenya and/or Rwanda, meeting and befriending people, and becoming comfortable with the slow pace of life will take some time. But ultimately the decision to take this opportunity can be condensed to three things, a) An excellent (in my opinion) organization working to solve a problem I’m passionate about, b) A real opportunity to take a leadership role in projects that involve problem-solving, and which require designing and implementing new ideas and systems, and c) To inch towards to the person, professionally and personally, that I want to be.
I’m very excited about the opportunities ahead. The organization currently has over 200 local staff running the program in Kenya and a similar operation exists in Rwanda. International expatriates only make up 6-8% of the staff, and are given significant responsibilities to design, trial, and implement systems or programs that go a fair way to improving the organization’s capabilities to serve its clients - smallholder farmers. It’s a funny world - the financial rewards are far less than corporate jobs in the U.S. or Australia, but you’re probably doing far more useful work and becoming a better leader here.
I reach my Kenyan residence (which is effectively the NGO headquarters, where other international staff live), located about a couple of hours from Kisumu, at about 8pm on Wednesday night. On Thursday, if I’m awake, I’ll hit the ground running with a warehouse visit and inventory training. In August I may go to Rwanda to familiarize myself with operations there, before we figure out where I should be placed in the longer-term.
Strangely enough, of all the NGOs and international organizations I’ve heard about and come across over the last year or so (while I completed a Master in Development Studies), this was my favourite. Of course, there are amazing organizations accomplishing great things, but I had also become increasingly interested in the causes of global hunger, and the significant disadvantages faced by smallholder farmers in the context of food security. It seemed ironic to me that of the billion people considered chronically hungry, half of them belong to farm families - whose primary activity is making food.
One Acre Fund seemed to be the only organization in the world with a holistic, comprehensive program model solely focussed on improving food security for smallholder farmers. When I saw a role that I thought I could fulfill in the organization, the application was a no-brainer. Luckily I got selected, so to not give it a go would be a wasted opportunity.
The transition from a beautiful cosmopolitan city to rural Kenya will have its challenges. I will miss the comfort of home and family, and the good times my friends provide here in Sydney. In Kenya and/or Rwanda, meeting and befriending people, and becoming comfortable with the slow pace of life will take some time. But ultimately the decision to take this opportunity can be condensed to three things, a) An excellent (in my opinion) organization working to solve a problem I’m passionate about, b) A real opportunity to take a leadership role in projects that involve problem-solving, and which require designing and implementing new ideas and systems, and c) To inch towards to the person, professionally and personally, that I want to be.
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