This is my little brother Neil (though in the tradition of all little brothers he is now bigger than I am). Neil is currently here:
Kakamega, Kenya
Neil is there with this pretty lady
His girlfriend Courtney for whom I made this Odessa.
They are gone to Africa for three months to do good work there. They are taking part in CABDA (Community Asset Building and Development Action) which is a grassroots community organization. As I understand it (and I am quite likely wrong), they will be giving out microcredit loans to locals to help them start up their own businesses which will stimulate the economy. When they pay back the loans it will provide money for other people to start their own businesses. (Neil, please correct me because I'm sure this isn't exactly right)
I am so immensely proud of both of them for being so brave and adventurous that I just had to share their story with the readers of this blog. If you are interested in following Neil and Courtney on their grand adventure you can check out their blog (I've also linked to it on the sidebar).
I promise to return to your regularly scheduled knitting soon :)
Edit: Neil has explained some of the things I wasn't sure about in the comments so check that out for clarification.
3 comments:
what a fantastic trip and it's for such a good cause! i can see why you're so proud of them both. i will be sure to peek in on their blog to see how they're faring on their adventures.
They are off on a wonderful adventure. It is great to remain connected through the internet, no stamps required.
Hello Dee's friends! Thank you Adriana for the limelight :)
We had an intense string of days, first of travel (soo long stopovers, sooo little sleep), a wild taxi romp through Nairobi to an animal orphanage.. there were hyenas and lions and an ostrich and monkeys and apes from a neighboring zoo which had climbed the fence to mock the caged monkeys, then wander around the footpaths unchecked (all the other animals were in cages), then the intensity of finding yourself in a radically different place. There's already been some terror (Courtney got malaria... after a bad 5 days of prognosis, treatment, and recovery, she's almost all better now).
Anyway, yeah, it would be great if you checked out our blog, courtney just posted about the malaria, and soon we should have more optimistic posts coming along. Also about the microcredit, that's basically correct, except the loans aren't large enough to be starting formal businesses. Rather, because most people here produce some of their crops for sale in the marketplace, its used to invest in their gardens and increase their yield so they can support the orphans in their care. Also these women get placed into groups which recieve training in different aspects, and the orphans get their school fees paid and uniforms bought for them.
Thanks for the post, gonna go... internet access here is $1 an hour... you want me to go hungery?
Also thanks for the words of support,
Neil
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