Habari Gani?
(Swahili for “What’s the news?”)

John Linsley ’04 (KSP fall ’02)
169 Perkins Row
Topsfield, MA 01983
jlinsley@gmail.com

I compiled this column as a new arrival to Ghana, where I am spending the summer with the International Organization for Migration.  I caught up with Courtney Babcock ’03 (KSP spring ’02) at Reunion 2008, one of several KSP alumni in Canton, and learned that she has also spent time in Ghana.

Sajana Blank ’08 (KSP spring ‘06), Dan Shafer ’08 (KSP fall ‘06), Barrett Miles ’07 (KSP fall ’06), Jessie Davie ’04 (KSP fall ’02), and Katie Gauthier ’04 (KSP fall ’02) spent summer 2008 leading community service programs in Tanzania for Putney Student Travel.  Katie is staying on in Tanzania for a field internship with Heifer International and Jessie will conduct graduate research focused on how climate change affects the villages of Mt. Meru in northern Tanzania.

Hope Thornton ’01 (KSP fall ’99) was planning to lead a summer program for National Geographic Student Expeditions in Tanzania, and then spend a year in Malawi working on food and nutrition security projects.  She recently completed her M.A. in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management at the School for International Training in Vermont.

Anna Larson ’05 (KSP fall ’03) returned to the North Country for the summer to teach sailing on the St. Lawrence River after a winter working at a Nordic ski shop in Aspen, Col.  Anna was joined in Colorado by Amber Dodge ’05 (KSP fall ’04).  Anna will move to New York City this fall and begin graduate study in education.

St. Lawrence Professor of Anthropology Celia Nyamweru wrote from Kenya, where she was teaching on the Kenya Summerterm.  She also visited Arusha, Tanzania, and flew over the Rift Valley volcano Oldoinyo Lengai to take photos of its crater.  Celia, who monitors Lengai, says it has had major eruptions recently.  In April, Celia made a presentation at the Association of American Geographers’ conference in Boston, on the KSP and its long-term engagement with students and communities in Kenya.  While in Boston, Celia visited Amanda Pearson ’92 (KSP fall ’90), who I learned recently met former Kenyan scholar Lati Lelelit ’04 at a St. Lawrence reception.

Dr. Wairimu Ndirangu, administrative director of the KSP, traveled to Washington, D.C., in June for the NAFSA Association of International Educators’ annual conference, then taught a course on healthcare provision for the Kenya Summerterm.  After being on campus last spring, Dr. Abdelwahab Sinnary, academic director of the KSP, who also taught in the Kenya Summerterm.

Kathleen Colson ’79 (KSP spring ’78) traveled in June to Loyangalani in northern Kenya to work on several projects of the The Boma Fund (www.bomafund.org).  Kathleen is executive director of the organization. 

Tristan Statler ’04 (KSP fall ’02) recently completed law school at Case Western Reserve University.  He was preparing for the Ohio State Bar Exam when this column went to print.

Jane Affleck ’06 (KSP fall ’04) is living in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where she works for Wilderness Ventures leading young adults on adventure travel programs.  Jane said there were six St. Lawrence alumni at this year’s leader orientation, several of whom had studied on the KSP: Amy Laverack '07 (spring '06), Callie Douglass '07 (spring '06) and Katie Craig '08 (spring '07).  Earlier in the year she traveled through Southeast Asia and caught up with Hadley Quish '06 in Vietnam.

Brendan Hayes ’04 (KSP spring ’03) recently finished up his graduate studies at University College Dublin with a thesis focused on the political economy of HIV prevention in Swaziland.  Brendan was planning a move to Malawi in July.

Matt Stevenson (Amherst, KSP fall ‘03) is finishing up his master’s work in water and sanitation engineering at MIT. Matt spent January in Ghana’s northern region with a research group from MIT looking at household water treatment technologies.  He also visited Ghana’s Mole National Park and the Sahel in Burkina Faso.  Matt plans to return to East Africa this fall for work.

Derek Hackmann ’04 (KSP fall ’02) was heading to Thailand for the summer for work with General Electric. He also planned to visit Tokyo.

Reed Rathgeber ’03 (KSP spring ’02) is living in Boston and teaching eighth grade social studies in the Brookline public schools.  Kenya is a common discussion topic with her students!

Brett Harvey ’02 (KSP fall ’00) and Hattie Shelton ’02 were engaged last summer in Tanzania. They were planning an August wedding in Maine!

As discussed in the last issue, KSP cook Alex Tesot recently took an early retirement brought on by several health problems.  Many thanks to the alumni and friends of the KSP who made contributions to assist Alex in purchasing a grinding mill.  Stay tuned for progress reports.

If you have returned to Kenya, have a story to share from your KSP, or would like to provide an update of your current doings, please be in touch with me by email or post using the contact information at the top of this page.  Tutaonana!

Summer 2003 Entry
Fall 2003 Entry
Winter 2004 Entry
Spring 2004 Entry
Summer 2004 Entry
Fall 2005 Entry
Spring 2006 Entry
Summer 2006 Entry
Report of Appreciation 2006
Winter 2007 Entry
Spring 2007 Entry
Summer 2007 Entry
Report of Appreciation 2007
Spring 2008
Summer 2008