Nairobi, Kenya

Why I chose to go to Kenya: I was motivated by the desire to try something entirely new and place myself in a situation where I’ll be forced to be in the minority in every way. I expect to grow as a result of that experience.

What I identified as the greatest challenges facing me as I began my study abroad program: I knew I’d have to make adjustments to another culture’s way of perceiving and structuring time. I soon learned that there would be many other challenges as well!

My ICRP: Work with the Kenya Domestic Observation Program (K-DOP)
This organization is a coalition of religious organizations and NGOs cooperating to observe the campaign period, election day, and post-election activities in Kenya. I attended the training for election observers in a rural village, then observed many of the election events taking place in Nairobi. After classes, I left for Eldoret, the birthplace and home of former President Moi, the stronghold of the ruling party KANU, and the site of many of the worst election violations in the past. I traveled around the Eldoret area observing training sessions and logistical preparations for observing the elections. The last two days before the election I traveled with the Regional Coordinator of K-DOP for the entire Rift Valley (the largest of Kenya’s eight provinces) to the Turkana Central District, the frontier region of Kenya (Turkana Central, and Lodwar, its only real city, are very remote, very dangerous, and quite different from the rest of Kenya). Arriving on Christmas day, we were informed that an opposition agent had just been murdered by pro-KANU "activists," and that the same activists had threatened to kill all opposition agents by the 26th, as well as all election observers (including the Regional Director and me), as "they are all biased towards the opposition." After touring Kakuma (home to a refugee camp), we left at 4 am on election day to visit as many sites as possible on the way back to Eldoret, traveling over the worst roads I ever hope to see in a journey that lasted until 7 a.m. the next day at a counting station in Eldoret.

ELECTION CROWD IN KENYA. PHOTO BY WILL DOBBIE

My feelings about the experience are best captured by the mood of the inaugration I attended in Nairobi on the 29th. The optimism and hope that permeated the crowd and the nation are overwhelming, in contrast to the tense atmosphere of the elections and the past 39 years of single party rule. Though there were many flaws in the past elections, both the people and the politicians seem to realize that this is the last chance for democracy in Kenya, and are seizing this chance. To see citizens beat up corrupt traffic officials for taking bribes, to see how clean the city is, to hear amazing stories of harambee (coming together) all throughout the nation—these are things I’ll never forget.

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Read excerpts from my letters home.