Habari Gani?
(Swahili for “What’s the news?”)
John Linsley ’04 (KSP fall ’02)
169 Perkins Row
Topsfield, MA 01983
jlinsley@gmail.com
Ian Grant ’84 (KSP spring ’83) returned
to Kenya in February. This was his fifth trip back, and the best
because he took his wife and children, 7 and 9. “To walk around
the Karen grounds and meet current KSP students brought back a rush
of memories and I hope left an impression on (my kids) of the impact
the program can have,” Ian said. “I was there as a board
member for the Boston- and Narok-based Maasai Education Discovery
Foundation (www.maasaieducation.org), along with board chair Cliff
Moskow ’89 (KSP spring ’87). The organization
focuses on providing educational opportunities to Maasai girls from
paying for school fees, to providing Web-based distance learning
and Cisco technology training, to rescuing girls from early marriages
and female circumcision. It’s my way of repaying, in part,
the experience of a lifetime.”
Ian saw his Kenyan family from
his internship in Kajiado and had a wonderful dinner with his urban
homestay parents, Mugu and Debbie Gachuhi, and Wairimu Ndirangu,
administrative director of the KSP (see picture).
In a recent e-mail, Mary
Hall Sexton ’02 (KSP
fall ’00) said, “I’ve become greatly interested in studying
poverty (economic and social concepts) in the North Country. In Kenya and Tanzania,
we met so many people who by U.S. standards would be considered completely impoverished,
yet their attitudes and outlook on life are remarkably different.” Mary
was assistant squash coach at St. Lawrence in 2002 and 2003. In the
spring of 2006, she earned an M.A. in Education and a Certificate of Advanced
Study in School Counseling at Plattsburgh State, where she now works in
residential life. Mary and husband Frank were expecting their first child in
April.
After spending last summer working in northern Tanzania for
Putney Student Travel, Hope Thornton ’01 (KSP
fall ’99)
passed through Dar es Salaam and southern Tanzania while en route to Malawi.
Hope is pursuing an M.A. in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management
from the School for International Training in Vermont and is completing thesis
research in Malawi, focusing on food and nutrition security.
Sarah Ellis ’04 (KSP fall ’02),
who spent much of last year volunteering in Ghana with Jessie Davie ’04 (KSP
fall ’02), moved from her native Park City, Utah, to New York City, where
she spent the winter busily applying to graduate schools. Sarah mentioned that
Jessie returned to Ghana around the holidays for a short visit to their volunteer
site, the Kopeyia Bloomfield Local Authority School. They caught up with Brendan
Hayes ’04 (KSP spring ’03) in November when he returned
to the U.S. for a short visit. Brendan continues his work in Swaziland with Young
Heroes and was awarded a Mitchell Scholarship, allowing him to pursue a year
of graduate study in Ireland.
Katie Gauthier ’04 (KSP
fall ’02)
will return to Tanzania again this summer to lead a group of students on a month-long
community service program for Putney Student Travel. Katie spent this past year
working at St. Lawrence’s Center for International and Intercultural Studies
(CIIS) as interim assistant director.
Matt
Stevenson (Amherst ’05, KSP fall ’03) e-mailed
from Kenya to say that he is working for JB Drilling in Nakuru. He
said it’s “a private borehole water drilling company which
operates three rigs in Kenya and 10 in Sudan. On site, I learn about
drilling techniques and the art of diesel mechanics, and have learned
how to drive a variety of trucks.” During the fall, Matt met
up several times with his KSP roommate Eric Buthmann ’05 (KSP
fall ’03), who spent much of the last two years working for the
School for Field Studies in Amboseli National Park.
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
