Saturday, June 30, 2007

Lift-Off 2007

Today begins the prelude to our adventure: the long trip to Africa. Jerry and I are already halfway there (France), Bob Seidensticker leaves Seattle tonight, and Allan Paulson is the last one out tomorrow afternoon. It takes about 24 hours to make the trip: 9 hours to London, a few hours layover, and another 8-9 hours to Nairobi--crossing 11 time zones in the process. Obviously, jet lag will be an issue the first few days.

We have a very rich (and exhausting) itinerary planned, including visits to all 6 projects funded in 2006, to 3 groups who submitted proposals in 2006 but weren't awarded a grant, to 2 new groups, and a return visit to Sauri Millennium Village. And we hope to do a little sightseeing on our one free day in Dar es Salaam.

We'll do our best to update this blog every few days, depending on availability of internet access, so check back often and feel free to share it with anyone you think would be interested.

Asante sana,
Chris Doerr

Friday, June 01, 2007

Preparing for the 2007 Trip

It's June 1st, and we're a month away from our arrival in Africa for this year's site visit. There will be 4 Pangea members traveling: Allan Paulson, Bob Seidensticker, Jerry and me. All the arrangements are made, we've all gotten the shots we need, and we have tickets and visas in hand. We'll be in Africa a few days longer than last year, which gives us more time to spend with each grantee. We'll actually stay at Rabuor village in Kenya for two nights, and will spend two days helping at the Teens Against AIDS summer camp. We'll update the blog just before our departure, and then as often as possible during our trip. Feel free to share this blog with others who might be interested. Wish us luck! Chris