First Blog Post...Excitement! An Introduction.

It seems a bit wrong today to be writing about anything other than Bin Laden's death, which still doesn't feel like it can be real: they finally found the World's Most Wanted Man, and I heard about it on facebook!

But I've been excited about getting this blog started for a while now, so I'm not going to let this momentous occasion distract me. Since the Ol Lentille Trust is now on twitter @ollentilletrust, facebook (well, we have a group) and we are learning tonnes about social media and building/improving our website (www.ol-lentilletrust.org), I have decided this blog will be a fantastic way to connect with our followers in more than 140 characters, updating you all on our work and news from Lentille as well as sharing our views and thoughts on the issues close to our hearts: education, healthcare, conservation, governance, poverty and development to name a few.

This first post is a general overview, with a little topical reflection thrown in! Let me know if there are any issues on African/community development, health, politics etc etc that you'd be interested to read more about, and I'll research and write!

We have been in Laikipia for almost 6 years now and couldn't imagine being anywhere else. The people we work with on a daily basis have accomplished so much, thanks to friends of the Trust and guests at the Sanctuary at Ol Lentille (www.ol-lentille.com). We have learnt a huge amount about the difficulties that face educators and healthcare professionals here every day, not to mention the challenges that face anyone living, learning and trying to make a living in a semi-arid, remote area, with little food, water or opportunity. We work in partnership with the Maasai and Samburu communities around the Conservancy, and collaborate closely with District officials and government employees in schools and the Kimanjo Clinic, in order to avoid the classic 'aid-dependency' trap, by strengthening existing systems/institutions and building capacity of local people, creating a strong sense of ownership, rather than imposing our views and ideas and being the 'big man' NGO who does things for a community rather than with them.

There have been so many amazing things to come out of the last 6 years, not least the friendships we have made here, and the difference the work of the Trust, the wonderful teachers, nurses and conservation rangers in the area has made. We intend to build on this foundation and make a real impact on this resource-poor, marginalised area.

My first task for tomorrow morning is to put together a summary of the work done with Ngabolo Primary School and Kimanjo Mixed Day Secondary School (opened Feb 2011), for the major donor to hand out on flyers at his birthday party in the Netherlands. Global support and philanthropy is an amazing thing and often comes from the most seemingly unlikely sources. We have been so lucky to meet the amazing people who have made our work here possible so far. In my next blog post, about the importance of secondary education in rural areas such as this, I'll share with you some of the amazing things pupils of Kimanjo wrote to their Dutch friends. I'm not one for the 'aww' moments, preferring cynical sarcasm as my modus operandi, but these letters made my heart melt.

Coming back to Bin Laden's demise, lets hope this can be the start of a new, positive phase of global political and social development. Whilst by no means a solution to the 'war on terror', it has certainly sparked a rush of positivity from world leaders, including our own President, Mr. Mwai Kibaki, who spared a thought for all the Kenyans killed in the 1998 embassy bombings. Hopefully such a significant step forward can spur the world into action and away from the impasse and depression that the global financial crisis seems to have caused. In community development, we only ever look forward- there is always something to be built on (literally and figuratively), and, despite the many long meetings, deliberations and round-in-circles discussions that are the nature of Maasai decision-making (it is an oral culture, where every detail is talked out at length, and the concept of 'time' is rather fluid...), we need to feel like we are moving forward. Lets hope everyone can use this weekend (a fairytale wedding and the killing of a terrorist ring leader) as a force for positive action and looking hopefully to the future.

So, welcome to our blog. I hope you will keep reading. Next post tomorrow.

Ashe Oleng na Karibu Tena

(Thank you very much and welcome again)

All at the Ol Lentille Trust