Table of Contents
The Kenya Connection
Habari Gani?
(Swahili for “What's the news?”)Amanda Pearson '92
KSP fall '90
204 Lakeview Avenue
Cambridge , MA 02138“A Growing Appetite for African Studies…” was the headline to a column that appeared on page A19 of the New York Times ( November 12, 2003 ). The article by Karen Arenson reports: “after decades of looking the other way, colleges and universities are beginning to show interest in Africa.” It was to encouraging read, and was a reminder that the experience of living, studying, traveling and working in another country can provide extraordinary academic and personal rewards.
I visited the St. Lawrence campus in October 2003 and happily was able to spend time with several of the students that I had met in Tanzania during the fall '03 KSP. Over the Thanksgiving break I caught up with Beth Moynihan Renaud (KSP fall '91; St. Michael's College '93), who had her first baby, Lucy, last June. Beth is in touch with Jodi Hicks '93 (KSP fall '91), who lives in Montana with husband Brett and is expecting her first baby in 2004. Kathleen Fitzgerald '92 (KSP spring '91) ran the Philadelphia Marathon in November in an effort to fundraise for the Northeast Wilderness Trust, whose motto is “W orking to preserve and restore forever wild landscapes for wildlife and people.”
Celia Nyamweru , associate professor of anthropology and acting director of the KSP, stayed with me for a few days while she attended the African Studies Association national conference in Boston . She and English professor/Associate Dean for Internationland Intercultural Studies Pat Alden and Dana Professor of Fine Arts Obiora Udechukwu conducted interviews for the post of director of the KSP at the conference.
At this writing, Trustee Dekkers Davidson '78 (KSP spring '78) was scheduled to head for Kenya in January to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro with his son, Kyle '06; Dekkers says “we have been told that Kyle is the first ‘second-generation' program participant.” He promised a report comparing this with his first climb, when he was on the program, adding that the expedition was being arranged by the daughter of the man who assisted the group in 1978. “I'm also planning a quick reunion with my rural and urban homestay families,” he says.
Summer 2003 Entry
Fall 2003 Entry