It’s now been two months since I left ‘home’. A very busy two months. What are you doing? What is it like there? Are you alive? …these are the questions I’m hearing most often so I decided this was probably the best way to answer those asking (and those not asking).

The short version: I’m managing humanitarian projects in Kenya. It’s hot. And I’m still alive.

The somewhat longer version:

I’m based in a town called Garissa in eastern Kenya close to the border with Somalia – do a Google Earth or Google Maps search….you’ll see it’s pretty isolated. In Garissa itself I’m managing three food security projects. One is a seed fair project where we give vouchers to destitute farmers and we organize an event with local seed vendors where the farmers can exchange these vouchers for horticultural seeds and seedlings.

The second project addresses the problems these same farmers have with their irrigation systems. If you did your Google Earth search you would have seen that it’s extremely dry around here except for along the river. That’s because all along the river are irrigated farms which pull water from the crocodile infested Tana River using engines which are for the most part well past their prime. We want to overhaul these engines.

The third project is a drought-tolerant maize seed distribution to rain-fed and irrigated farms. People are resistant to try new varieties of seeds because of the precarious position they are in, so the idea is to test this seed out and if it’s found to be viable maybe the farmers will choose it in the future.

The fourth project I manage is in the three refugee camps two hours away towards the Somali border. It’s a pilot project where we give vouchers to refugee families who have a malnourished child for them to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables in the camp markets.

What’s it like here? Well, you’ll have to stay tuned to find out….

And, yes, I’m still alive.