Pre-Trip

Not a Blog

I want to preface this blog by stating that I am not a blogger. I just don't have it in me. I have always felt that I have had inadequate resources to process life's experiences for my own purposes, let alone present them in an organized fashion with an audience in mind. Those who manage that feat on a regular basis have my profound respect. 

Actually, my decision to write about my experiences on this trip was as the result of a suggestion by a couple of interested friends. I was flattered by the suggestion and began to think that a blog may be a way to kill two birds with one stone: keep friends and family at home updated, and journal my experiences during what would no doubt prove to be a formative period in my life.

So that's what this is: a travel journal. For those who care enough to read it: I truly aspire to make it worth your time. I will endeavour to make it an small, pleasurable part of your day. 

Why thirty-something? 

I am thirty-four years old. Normally, I really wouldn't think that was relevant at all; however, as I was preparing for this trip, I began to reflect on my age and what significance it has on my perceptions and observations of Africa. To be honest, my view thus far has been through the dual-lenses of the young adult and the baby boomer.  

I've had some great experiences working on projects put forward by a number of visionary young people whose goal was to bring focus to the issues that Africa faces in a new generation. Their travel experiences were conveyed back to their audience in a hopeful, emotional, idealistic, melodramatic light. Their observations were often coloured by a strong desire to do something monumental to deal with the intimidating problems that Africa faces, but also by a certain degree of impotence. There was always a hint of the desperation that comes from seeing a problem clearly, but not having the resources or the tools or the platform to do anything about it.

On the other hand, I've been involved in a number of corporate endeavours to fund aid projects on the ground in Kenya, Uganda, and Sudan. With very few exceptions the predominant view of Africa from these sources has come to me via the previous generation and there are some distinct differences from the young-adult presentation. The sense of powerlessness is not there: baby-boomers in general I think are very confident the their ability to change the world. There is also no lurking lack of resources. However, there is a sense that the baby-boomer understands the problem to be not as well-defined or as black-and-white as a young person would see it. The problem has far less to do with resources, or lack thereof, and far more to do with the wise application of those resources.

As a thirty-something, I guess I am sort of threading the needle between these two ideologies. I am hoping to unite the two viewpoints, at least in some aspects. I can see where they are both coming from and I respect both approaches. I also hope to make some of my own observations. At the very least, it's a unique spin I can use to keep things interesting.