Nairobi - extra time

Still stuck in Nairobi! I’d hoped to be finished with the work permit process today but will have to go back to the immigration department again tomorrow morning, delaying my return to Kosele. The wheels of officialdom grind slowly. The long term benefits of being patient heavily outweigh the minor inconvenience of being holed up at Sam’s while I wait for a result so it’s a case of grinning and bearing it.

I received a call from Duncan, our farm manager, this afternoon. He is a great encouragement. He told me that the cassava planting is going well and that we have had a little more rain. Cassava is a new crop for us. It is well suited to a dry climate like ours and it will be interesting to see how well our crop grows. By the time I get back to Kosele I will have been away for the best part of the working week. I’m looking forward to seeing the progress on the farm. I’ve managed to buy a couple of good, local, farming magazines while I’ve been in Nairobi and have been struck by how closely our farming initiatives tie in with the cover stories in the them. Duncan hasn't read them yet so I hope that he will find them very motivational.

As the walls of my room close in and my frustration at the lack of progress today grows I am led to reflect on our progress to date and the next steps that we need to take. The next big event is the school inspection which starts next Monday. Being forced to take a break from being in Kosele does, at least, mean that I don’t have too many distractions. This helps the inspection planning process, giving me confidence that it will help us to identify our strengths and weaknesses in the school. I’m looking forward to the week and being able to have some constructive discussions with the teachers about the actions we will take after the inspection. It is, perhaps, a little optimistic to hope that the teachers will feel as enthusiastic about the inspection. It is certainly a challenge to put a positive spin on it. In the long run I’m confident that we will make progress together during the rest of the year.

Tomorrow requires an early start. Joseph, the driver, reckons we will need to leave at 7 a.m. to make it to the city centre for 9 a.m. because of the jams. Gridlock in Nairobi is, I’m sure, just another test of my resolve. Must remember to take a good book.