What am I doing here?

On the way out to Kenya Anne and I were on separate flights. I arrived about 12 hours earlier. I opted to wait for her in the airport and through the good graces of British Airways and my frequent flier membership I was able to spend the time in the relative comfort of the BA lounge in Nairobi. Prior to the flight’s approach into Nairobi the trip had in many ways felt like any other business trip, packing, security, the same flight out of SeaTac, the same flight out of Heathrow. What most decidedly was not the same was the view as we came in to land across the African savannah with the distinctive flat-topped yellow acacia trees - the airport abuts one of the large game parks. So, there I was sitting alone in the lounge with a gin and tonic looking out across savannah with the Nairobi skyline in the distance pondering – what am I doing here.

Sure, Anne and I had spent many hours going over the same question, and to their credit, VSO had posed the same question on multiple occasions during the selection and training sessions. Talk was now meeting hard reality. We inevitably arrived at the coast during the hottest part of the year, quickly disabusing me of my recollections of Kenya as having a pleasant temperate climate. Nairobi does (it has been a consistent ten degrees cooler than Seattle this week). Kenya, not necessarily.

Like any new position, the initial days were taken up becoming familiar with the organization and the different personalities. Before going any further let me explain that the office in downtown Kilifi, where the staff spends most of its time, is 40km (24 miles) from the region that houses the farmer communities being served. Of the 12 people in the office, 8 are young degreed expat volunteers and just three are local staff. Yes, the ratio of expats to locals is very unusual for a NGO here. One recent addition (she arrived two weeks ahead of us) has significant forestry experience; the others have liberal arts or undergraduate science background with limited or no prior professional experience. As I understood the assignment, I was to develop the process and operational infrastructure to support an organization, which aims to grow from 150 farmers and field staff to 10,000 over the next 4-5 years. So, though questioning the need for such a large expat staff, I was ready to get started. Fast-forward 8-9 weeks.

It became increasingly clear (to her credit Anne analyzed the pitfalls before I was ready to accept them) that the organizational structure and mode of operation were going to make implementation of change challenging. Not wishing to generalize and recognizing my limited exposure, I would not be surprised to see many of the following characteristics exhibited at other NGOs: a forceful, charismatic, controlling head, rather than leader; substituting fundraising rhetoric and documentation (at last count an 80 pages brochure) for operational strategic and business plans; minimizing input from the customer (farmers); collecting data with a view to publishing academic papers and satisfying perceived needs of donors, rather than the continuous quality improvement of the product delivery and operating environment. All of this I was observing exhibited in spades, prompting me to question afresh – what am I doing here?

Without going into further gory details, they and I parted company just over a week ago.

Meanwhile I have been in Nairobi exploring alternative opportunities in the hope of once more attempting to facilitate some minor change for good. The plus side I have had the opportunity of talking with individuals engaged in fascinating endeavors and learning about some truly inspiring positive activities that never make the news. But more of that for a later date.