Meru and Beyond

Even after all the wonders of the previous days, the true highlights of our trip came at the end when we were able to travel to Meru and connect with friends and contacts from Peace X Peace.

Mercy Chidi, my colleague for the past few years at PXP, is our Kenya liaison, based in Meru. Mercy and her husband had been living in Nairobi and working for Catholic Relief Services and the UN for many years when they decided to leave their jobs and return to Mercy's home town of Meru to develop the community there. They founded Ripples International as a way to care for those who needed it: abandoned babies, people affected by HIV-AIDS, girls and women who had suffered because of domestic violence, and more. Ripples is an umbrella organization under which there are many programs that focus on specific needs. Peacebuilding and the role of women connecting across cultures to build peace is one of those programs, and in that way, Peace X Peace has been partnering with Ripples through Mercy since 2005.

Mercy arranged for us to tour all of the Ripples facilities around Meru. We visited her administrative offices, the dispensary and connectivity center for Peace X Peace, the Brenda Boone Hope Center for girls who have been affected by domestic violence, a new complex with a pediatric hospital, chapel, sustainable agricultural programs, and plans to centralize the other centers from around the city, and New Start, the baby rescue center. We were amazed and inspired by what they have accomplished in just eight years.

Mercy also arranged for several of the PXP members from the area to come and have a meeting with me at the center. They greeted me with songs and dance, and of course I had to join in! E was a good sport during all of these women's activities, and of course, he took all the great photos. We got to tour the hostel that the PXP Circle in Summit County has co-invested with their Sister Circle in Meru to found and run, and we got to hang out with Mercy and her family.
Meru is a bit of a rougher town than Nairobi, although to us it still felt like a paradise. There are some eleven different kinds of bananas that grow in the lush forests and valleys of the region. Still, they have a new Nakomat hypermarket, and a reasonable hotel and restaurants. Anyone looking for an extended volunteer position could do well at one of the Ripples' programs, and I'm sure you would be appreciated.

So our trip to Kenya ended on a high note. I continue to be energized by the experience of getting to know people (especially, in my case, women) in other countries, collaborating with them on peacebuilding projects online, and then traveling to visit those places and meeting those friends in person--to see them working in their local environments. It is powerful to feel that connected to people in so many places in the world.

See more photos from Meru here: http://www.shutterfly.com/share/singleshare/invite.sfly?fid=3f0e48cabd1cab02d33ce936de451066

In the evening we returned to our friends' place in Nairobi, had one last delicious meal at a fancy, but not overly expensive gourmet restaurant, and then crashed. We treated ourselves to visit a baby elephant and rhino sanctuary on the last day before catching our plane north to Khartoum. Many wonderful memories--and thanks to E's amazing photos and videos, fun experiences to share.