With My Own Eyes

As this is an introductory post, I believe some context-setting is in order. I am currently slightly jet-lagged (though about to be so much more so) in transit to my year of service as a Princeton in Africa fellow with the International Rescue Committee in Nairobi, Kenya. This blog will serve as a forum for me to share my experiences of Kenya and my perspectives on the challenges, issues, and triumphs I discover. The title of this post conveys two things: 1) that this blog represents solely my views and in no way reflects the views of Princeton in Africa or the International Rescue Committee and 2) my motivation and impetus for moving 10,000 miles from all semblance of familiarity for 12 months. I was blessed to have had a rigorous academic experience at Occidental College and was challenged and empowered by my course of study, Diplomacy and World Affairs. I was given opportunities to expand my horizons by participating in the Oxy-in-Rwanda volunteer program, study abroad (Paris, France), and the Oxy at the UN program where I worked for the Rwandan Mission to the UN. The intellectual stimulation I gained through classes, various research projects, and conversation with my peers highlighted the complexities of the 21st-century world. While I will be forever grateful for the academic education I accomplished, I found myself at the end of four years frustrated by an inability to call upon authentic observations about the issues I was debating in the classroom. I completed my undergraduate education with the conviction that in order to make the maximum contribution and the most positive impact on the issues I'm most passionate about, I needed to see more of the world and its critical issues with my own eyes. 

I do not know what this next year holds and how it might change me, but I do know that I have an incredible support network of friends, family, and the Princeton in Africa (PiAf) community. I encourage anyone reading this to learn more about PiAf by visiting its website. I will spend the next year working for the International Rescue Committee's Kenya office; I have admired IRC's work for years and am thrilled to learn from and contribute to its programs and staff. You can learn more about IRC at their website. It is with excitement, apprehension, compassion, and joy that I conclude this first post; at my next I'll be reporting from my new home in Nairobi!