<![CDATA[SERENA KELSCH

<![CDATA[SERENA KELSCH - Blog]]>Wed, 27 May 2026 12:24:31 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[And Then It Was Suddenly 12 Years Later]]>Mon, 07 Oct 2024 02:28:45 GMThttps://www.serenakelsch.com/blog/and-then-it-was-suddenly-12-years-laterHello Dear Friends!
Wow, what a journey it's been! I can hardly believe that 12 years have passed since I last wrote about my adventures in Kenya. So much has changed, yet the lessons I learned there and at MIIS, along with the incredible people I met along the way, continue to shape how I approach my work today—supporting local communities in identifying challenges and creating sustainable solutions.
Over the next few weeks, I’m excited to share some reflections on that ongoing journey, from my time as a Grant Writer with Firelight Foundation, to leading resource development with Habitat for Humanity Alaska, and Los Padres ForestWatch, and now, serving as Director of Strategic Partnerships at ShelterBox. Each step has been a chapter in a story I’m eager to revisit with you all.
In the meantime, here’s a little something to bring a smile— pictures of me and my cat, Brie. 🐾
Looking forward to reconnecting with you all!

]]><![CDATA[Asante Sana ya OGRA Foundation wa Kenya]]>Tue, 09 Oct 2012 03:44:00 GMThttps://www.serenakelsch.com/blog/asante-sana-ya-ogra-foundation-wa-kenya

We are the exhibit: Village children watching my parents and I sit inside of a van stuck 2 feet deep in the middle of a swampy field, 3 hours from any help

The last week in Kenya was a crazy combination of travel, meeting with my parents, packing, and wrapping up humanitarian projects.

Please click "read more"

After leaving Emily in Arusha, Tanzania, I flew directly to Nairobi, Kenya, and met my parents at the international terminal. Yes, it was a crazy couple of weeks.

Unfortunately, my parents had a rough introduction to Kenya. We had a couple of crazy drivers that resulted in:

Being stranded at 5:00 am on the most dangerous road in Kenya, the Nairobi Highway, carrying 200+ pounds of luggage
Getting stuck for 3 hours in 2 feet of mud, 3 hours from any help, and being rescued by my dad's ingenuity, 3 village women, a dozen children carrying stones, and a 4x4 truck
Taking a different "road" that included a 15% grade on the side of a cliff, people looking at us like we were crazy, and a 10 year old boy leading us through swampy meadows, by foot, because the different "road" had 6 foot ruts

Needless to say, my parents received the full transportation experience, and the drivers received a very firm and direct talking to by a mzungu woman who is very protective of her mzungu parents.

Fortunately, the rest of their visit was very enjoyable. We spent 3 days on safari in the Maasai Mara, staying at the Mara Serena hotel. (Yes, I chose it because of the name.) The hotel Mara Serena was beautiful! The property has 360 degree sweeping views of the Maasai Mara. Our gorgeous rooms were decorated with local art, consistently hot showers (Yes!), toiletries better than anything I could get my hands on in Kisumu (Woohoo!), and fantastic food that even my dad would eat. (How in the world did they get Emmenthaler cheese and olives out there?)

We spent the days out on game rides looking for animals, and our evenings sitting on our balconies, binoculars in hand, watching the giraffes, zebra and gazelle move across the savanna. Because of the time of year, we saw dozens of baby animals, and because of our location, we saw all of the Big 5.

The cutest animals we saw would have to be a tie between the lioness family, who had a half dozen cubs trying to keep up with the rest of the pride, and the mother cheetah caring for her ball of fluff baby while hunting rabbits in the savanna. (I've posted pictures of both.)

But, the coolest experience, was an experience we almost did not have at all. The only place we were allowed to get out of the van was at the famous Mara River. The Mara River is famous for the annual wildebeest crossing, often seen on nature channels. We walked along the river banks with an armed ranger to view hippopotamus and crocodile. (He has only had to use his rifle twice.) On the way back up the river, a leopard jumped out of the bushes, only 10 feet away from us, and ran off into the field. We were so shocked, we could not speak. It was amazing!

After returning to Kisumu, my parents spent a day visiting OGRA Foundation's programs and touring the town. OGRA was very welcoming, and took my parents to visit our clinics, schools and meet different program staff.

My mom had an opportunity to teach two sessions of her Infection Control class to healthcare workers who work in OGRA supported clinics. The classes were very successful and engaging, helping staff identify and then resolve issues surrounding infection control in their clinic, coming up with practical methods to reduce the spread of infection. We are now working on developing U.S. partnerships with OGRA.

On my last full day in Kisumu, Peter took my mother and me to visit a school that had just started implementing the Health Start program. The number one reason children do not attend school in Kenya is because of illness. Children typically eat one meal a day, do not have access to clean drinking water, are barefoot, cannot afford school uniforms, and cannot afford school supplies. All of these lead to poor school attendance and a poor learning environment: it is difficult to learn if you are hungry, have a stomachache from drinking bad water, or have contracted tuberculosis because you have no shoes to wear when you go use the latrine. Health Start is an OGRA Foundation program, initiated by their UK partners, KOP. The goal of Health Start is to remove health barriers impeding attendance and learning in primary school.

Fredah Ajowi, the Senior Project Officer at OGRA Foundation, and I developed the indicators for the program based on both Kenyan Ministry of Education Goals and United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

The indicators are tied to practical solutions, that led to the development of activities such as school meals, weekly nutritional supplements, increasing hand washing stations and latrines, and ensuring children have school uniforms and shoes. The strategy includes developing local and sustainable means to maintain this long-term program.

Parents, teachers and school staff are required to participate in the design and continued implementation of the program for sustainability and buy-in. Food is either purchased locally or grown on-campus by students and teachers as part of their curriculum. This serves two purposes, a tool to learn sustainable farming techniques and a means to feed school children.

The program is designed so that students, teachers and staff wash their hands to reduce the spread of germs, drink clean water, and eat nutritious meals all together. Adults setting the example for children.

This is a one year pilot program, held at 3 elementary schools containing more than 3,600 children. In three years, OGRA Foundation will be training, supporting, and mentoring 12 schools.

The ultimate goal is a train-the-trainer program, teaching people how to resolve the issues of poverty in their own communities, and then applying lessons learned to other problems. In the beginning, OGRA will have a heavy hand in ensuring that schools have enough food, enough sanitary facilities, and enough uniforms, to positively impact the educational outcomes for primary school children. While they do this, they will be continuously collecting and analysizing data to improve program outcomes, publish the successes and failures of the programs, and advocate for primary school resources from the Government of Kenya, encouraging them to utilize OGRA's model across the country.

With time, the earlier primary schools will become self-sufficient and model schools in the Kisumu District. OGRA will take on new schools to support, utilizing the expertise of the pilot schools as mentors. In the end, OGRA will serve as a mentor and information hub, training and mentoring organizations in successfully implementing programs, connecting people and organizations with resources, and ultimately building the capacity of Kisumu, Kenya to care for it's people. We are at the beginning of a virtuous cycle. I could not have asked for a better send off then seeing a project I had helped to develop, implemented and already positively effecting so many children.

On my very last day, OGRA Foundation hosted a going away party for me. There was great food, beautiful gifts, and kind words. I was overwhelmed with the generosity and kindness of my OGRA colleagues. I miss my Kenyan brothers and sisters, and cannot wait to see them again.

Asante Sana ya OGRA Foundation wa Kenya.

]]><![CDATA[Ngorongoro Crater or How Serena was Almost Mauled by a Lioness and was Saved by Following Instructions]]>Mon, 24 Sep 2012 05:49:21 GMThttps://www.serenakelsch.com/blog/ngorongoro-crater

A cheetah, looking for her morning meal

On the final leg of our safari, Emily and I spent a day inside of the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. The crater is the remnants of an ancient volcano and is now technically a bowl. Located just outside of the Serengeti, the floura and fauna contained inside of the bowl are beginning to adapt and change to the different environment. The lions inside of the bowl are slightly smaller than the lions in the Serengeti; naturalists are considering cross breeding Ngorongoro lions with Serengeti lions, to even out the darwinian score.

Please click "read more."

Emily and I arrived at our hotel, perched on top of the Ngorongoro Crater, simultaneously energized and exhausted from a day driving through the savanna. We had just enough time to wash the Serengeti dust off of our body, throw on clean clothes, and grab our own version of a sundowner to watch the sun dip behind the Ngorongoro crater wall and disappear into the Serengeti.

The next morning, we headed down a single lane road down into the depths of the crater.

The very first thing we saw was a spotted cheetah looking for breakfast. The crater contains thousands of animals, and most of them would be a tasty morning treat for this beautiful lady. We spent the next 45 minutes watching her pace back and forth across the tall grass. Everyone, including the zebras, wildebeest, flamingos, Crowed Cranes and people were engrossed, anticipating her next move. After stalking a dozen different animals, she put her nose in a bush of wildflowers, and came up with rabbit. Carrying her prize across the field, she sat down for her meal, disappearing into the gold and green tall grass.

After our adventure with the cheetah, we headed off to watch a young male elephant play in a mud pool. He got up to his belly in the muck, sprayed mud into the air, and made a fantastic mess of himself!

On the other side of the pool we watched a mother and her infant hippopotamus meander up the pool bank, sticking their ears, eyes, and nose up into the air to navigate their way.

Next, we found a couple of hyenas hanging out with a family of lions. The lions had caught a wildebeest earlier in the morning, and the hyenas were waiting their turn with the carcass. At one point, the matriarch of the group stood up, and started walking my direction. Our driver, Daniel, told me to pull my body back inside of the Range Rover, and close the window. Luckily, the lioness just wanted to nap in the shade of our vehicle.

Our day ended with the king of the crater, an older male lion and two white rhinoceroses. We watched the lion, with his shaggy, matted, golden main wander across the tall grass, in the bright sunlight, to some unknown destination. The rhinos laid in the sun, unmoved like giant white boulders, embracing the African heat.

Next week I'll be sharing my final week in Kenya and wrapping up my development work with OGRA Foundation.

To see all of the pictures from our trip into the crater, click here.

]]><![CDATA[Into the Wilds of Tanzania: A Safari Adventure]]>Mon, 17 Sep 2012 03:13:23 GMThttps://www.serenakelsch.com/blog/into-the-wilds-of-tanzania-a-safari-adventure

Elephants, walking into a Serengeti storm

My blogs will be out of chronological order the next 3 week. During that time, I will be sharing with you my experiences during the last few weeks I lived in Africa. After that, I will be returning to sharing adventures of looking for a dream job in the international development sector.

So, to begin, the first week of June, my dear friend Emily and I spent a week on safari in the the Tanzanian Serengeti. Traversing through the savanna, we were able to watch zebras, wildebeest, water buffalo, hippopotamus, lions, leopards and many other animals all interact in the wild.

Please click "read more" for the rest of this week's blog.

Flying from Zanzibar to Arusha Airport, it was too cloudy to see Mount Kilimanjaro on our way to the national park. (Luckily, both her and I saw it on our plane rides from Nairobi to Zanzibar.) Spending a week in a Toyota Land Rover, Emily and I entered the Serengeti excited to spend our days popping our heads out through a roof and windows to learn about the circle of life first-hand!

We used the Bushmen Expeditions tour service, a tour company recommended to me by a friend in the United States who had used them when they had visited Tanzania a few years previous. They are local, trustworthy, their prices are fair, they are highly knowledgeable, and I had the utmost confidence in our guide the entire trip. For your own comfort and security, if you go to Africa on safari, and it is your first time in Africa, use a tour company. I also highly recommend that you use a tour company that came as a reference from someone you personally know. Going to Africa is very different than going to Europe, or South America or Asia, you cannot wing it.

Emily and I had the trip of a lifetime! We were able to watch a family of lions napping in the branches of a giant tree in the afternoon sun. A matriarchy, the tree contained over six lions, with ages ranging from infant, to adolescent, to teenager, to middle aged females. An interesting fact, female lions do most of the hunting, and live much longer than the male. The males tend to spend a lot of time fighting over the females, as there is only one adult male to a female pack. Emily and I were able to watch a lion honeymoon, and listen to the newlyweds purr in their new marital bliss as they sunbathed on a rock surrounded by meadows.

Driving through the savanna, we passed herds of water buffalo, who have terrible eyesight but a fantastic sense of smell, which they use to identify danger. They would wiggle their ears and raise their noses to catch our scent in the cooling afternoon rain.

Driving from the middle to the top of the Serengeti, we saw 1.6 million wildebeest in the middle of the savanna making their annual migration to the Maasai Triangle. The wildebeest migrate 12 months out of the year, and only stop for a few weeks at a time to eat and give birth, following the rain patters for greener pastures. Zebra and wildebeest are considered cousins and are very good friends. It is not uncommon for a zebra family to have a wildebeest cousin living with them, and vice versa. Wildebeest are known for their aggression and sparing skills, but have a reputation for bad eyesight, getting lost, and making poor decisions. On the other hand, their cousins have a fantastic sense of direction, sight, wit, and problem solving skills, and actually herd the wildebeest through their migration, with some zebra leading the way to the Mara, and other zebra keeping up the tail end, ensuring no wildebeest are lost or left behind.

Towards the tail end of our trip through the Serengeti, we visited a pool that contained more than 300 hippopotamus. It was fantastic to watch them interact, submerge and emerge from the water, and get into fights! They are very interesting animals. They are nocturnal, and graze like cows in meadows as far as 6 miles from their pools at night. Hippos spend their days sleeping in water because they have sensitive skin that sunburns easily and have not sweat glands. They use the water for protection from the sun and to cool off. Hippos are the 2nd most dangerous animals in Africa, because they have trampled so many people to death. Never get between a hippo and water or a female hippo and her child.

Warthogs continue to be my favorite animal. That said, I love leopards. They have gorgeous, glossy, spotted coats, their body lines are sleek and their body strong. I also love the way they move- slipping from the tree into the grass and disappearing into the wild. Emily and I had the chance to observe two different leopards. There were a lot of lions and leopards in the areas we visited; they were hunting the migrating wildebeest. Leopards are tough to spot, they spend their days sleeping high in tree branches, where their coats are great protection blending them into the spotted light and shadows of the leaves. In one sighting, a leopard we were observing sleeping high in a tree became fed up with all of the chatter from the people in their vehicles. She got up, walked down the tree, and slipped into the savanna- never seen again. (We ruined her nap.)

Overall, my favorite moment in the Serengeti was during an afternoon drive. On that particular bright and sunny day, we could see clouds forming in the distance. We pulled over, as the clouds gathered, to watch a family of elephants. As the the thunder boomed and the lightning flashed, the elephants crossed in front of us and into the storm, into a green valley filled with gazelle, heart-beasts, zebras, water buffalo, and wildebeest. This was what I had dreamed of when I was a little girl and said I would live in Africa someday. I repeated to myself, this is Africa.

To see all of the photos from our trip, please click here.

Next week, I will share our Ngorongoro Crater adventure!

The toughest car ever!

The toughest ride ever!

Emily at the entrance

Serena at the entrance

An African traffic jam

The top of the Ngorongoro Crater

Emily and Serena, at the top of the Ngorongoro Crater

Our faithful driver

A random camel (not indigenous to East Africa)

This is not the zoo

Emily and Serena, at the entrance of the Serengeti

Wildebeest, at the tail-end of the migration

The beautiful Serengeti

Other tours, racing the rain

Serena, in the Serengeti

An elephant herd

Matriarch of the herd, warning us to keep our distance

Ostrich

A baby giraffe

A leopard

Our sweet ride

R.O.U.S. (Rodent Of Unusual Size) at our hotel

Hotel Bling- our room key

Hotel Bling- our door handle

Our hotel, with a 360 view of the savanna

Warthog!

Sun setting over a hippo pool

Six lions

Lion footprints

Are they going to make it?

Yes! (A car was stuck here for 1/2 day, the day before.)

A leopard, hidden in a tree

A leopard

A lion, and his bride, on their honeymoon

This is what 1.6 million wildebeests looks like (the dots in the background are wildebeest)

A practice run of the wildebeest migration, they run single-file

Zebras herding wildebeest

Yes, we did that.

Two jackels

Elephants, walking into the rain

Do you see the cheetah?

How about now?

Water Buffalo

This is Africa

There is nothing like an African sunset, just a few degrees south of the equator

Our beautiful hotel

Giraffe

Baboon

Baby baboons ride on their mothers stomachs and their fathers backs

Making it's nest

A gazelle

300+ hippo's, in a very dirty, stinky pond

Two bulls fighting!

A baby hippo and its mother

Serena and Emily, in the Serengeti

Good to know

Masaai tribesman

A Maasai Village

I'm so glad we didn't get this when we were looking at the lions

Ascending the bowl to the Ngorongoro Crater

]]><![CDATA[Exploring the Information Super Highway and Hitting the Trail]]>Mon, 10 Sep 2012 04:56:52 GMThttps://www.serenakelsch.com/blog/exploring-the-information-super-highway-andhitting-the-trail

As the days get shorter and the nights get cooler the time to move to the next stage has begun.

Now that I have a little more time on my hands, I have begun the process of looking for full time work and enjoying the things I use to do before starting graduate school.

I have 2 goals this fall:

Find a challenging and fabulously fun job.
Hike every park in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Starting the process of moving from a fundraising career to an international development career, I've discovered that there are a few differences in searching for a job than when I first started 13 years ago. A strong CV, resume and a cover letter are still important, but instead of being mailed in hard copy, they remain in electronic format and are emailed, posted on your personal website, and added to web-based business social networking sites. Finding a job is still about who you know, but in the 2.0 world, social media networking is a new important tool. The business social networking website LinkedIn has exploded, and sector specific websites like Devex, allow you to build relationships, join groups, and sub-groups allowing you to engage and share information in a way we were not able to interact just a few years ago.

This week I applied for an internship at an international development agency in Los Angeles. I have an informational interview next week, and will be researching eight jobs, with a goal of applying to four. Wish me luck!

This fall I will be splitting my time between applying for jobs, building my network, and exploring beautiful Southern California. I have set a personal goal of hiking in all of the parks in the Santa Monica Mountain Range this fall. I love the U.S. National Park Service. They do a fantastic job of maintaining well kept trails and beautiful facilities. Saturday I explored Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa, an 100,000 acre nature preserve, inhabited by the Chumash, then the Spaniards, then Americans, and now by the National Park Service. It contains sweeping views of the valley, and at its peak has fantastic views of the Pacific Ocean. In October, I will be joining the Sierra Club to hike the Backbone Trail, which separates the ocean from the valley. If you're in the area, please join me!

]]><![CDATA[Returning to the West]]>Wed, 05 Sep 2012 00:14:50 GMThttps://www.serenakelsch.com/blog/returning-to-the-west

Santa Barbara California Summer Solstice

Family, friends and colleagues, I have a fantastic list of excuses for not posting any new blogs since returning from Africa.

First, I have had the great opportunity to work as a consultant with two fantastic organizations, which took over my life.

Second, my computer has been sick, and has been spending time with the doctor- selfishly keeping my photographs and stories on Africa with it.

And third, I have been traveling visiting family, friend, colleagues and beautiful California: embracing my American roots.

Please click "read more" to learn more about my consultancies.

Returning to California, I have had the opportunity to work with two great organizations, OGRA Foundation and Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County.

The concept note for Community Action to Prevent Mother to Child Prevention of HIV I wrote for OGRA Foundation was accepted by the grantor organization in July! A few days later I received an email from OGRA Foundation to lead putting the proposal together! The even better news, is that OGRA Foundation has an approximately 50% chance of having the grant accepted!

Just to refresh your memory, Kisumu District has one of the highest rates of HIV in Kenya. It is estimated that approximately 25% of the population is HIV positive. In Kisumu, infants are one of the most vulnerable populations to HIV. Because many women choose to give birth at home and have never received an HIV test, it is impossible to estimate how many infants are infected with the virus. It is estimated that 25% of infants born to HIV infected mothers contract the virus, unless their mothers take prophylaxis. The good news is that less than 5% of infants whose mothers take prophylaxis contract the HIV. Current treatments are highly effective.

OGRA Foundation has worked in partnership with Columbia University's ICAP program to increase access HIV care and treatment by decentralizing the current government HIV program. Preliminary results of decentralization have been fantastic! A significant number of women and infants are now accessing these services, and as a result, less women and infants are contracting HIV in Kisumu, but not enough to end the epidemic.

The goal of the proposal we put together is to meet the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals 4, 5 and 6: to increase child and maternal health, and combat HIV and AIDS. In effect, to end the infant HIV epidemic in Kisumu District. With the evidence-based successes OGRA is having in Kisumu with decentralization, I am confident the sustainable program in our proposal is a tipping point for HIV in Kisumu District.

It was fantastic working remotely with OGRA's staff! Working with Gaby Amolo, Dr. Steve Okello and Ken Obiero, we spent the next 3 weeks putting together the narrative, logframe, indicators, management strategy, and budget for the strategy. Working together for the last 6 months, we were a highly effective and efficient team, completing the proposal a week before the proposal was due.

Please cross your fingers for us! OGRA has earned this proposal, and it could be a launching point for future good work!

I also had the opportunity this summer to work with Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County again. Working as a fund development consultant with Elizabeth Mayer, Habitat Ventura's fund development consultant, I helped develop Habitat Ventura's first phone-a-thon. The purpose of the Phone-a-thon was 3-fold:

Raise $10,000
Kick-off and engage donors and volunteers in Habitat Ventura's 30th Anniversary celebrations
Update donor and volunteer contact information

Elizabeth and I hired and trained approximately 15 interns to call donors and volunteers. The interns were fantastic! Over the course of 8 nights they collectively called over 9,000 donors and volunteers, shared the great work Habitat is doing in Ventura County, and raised over $10,000!

I am lucky to have been able to spend my summer working alongside such worthy organization filled with fantastic people!

Until next week, where I will share my efforts in finding my dream job!

Enjoying my OGRA Kikoi

Christina and Serena in her Zanzibar Kikoi

Hiking in Malibu Canyon

Hiking beautiful Point Dume

Summer Solstice Parade in Santa Barbara

Sunset in Asilomar

Asilomar Sunset

Serena and Moe on a rooftop in Las Vegas

Las Vegas

The Lovely Kelsch Ladies in Las Vegas

A very unhappy clam

The best sandwich shop in Santa Barbara and Ventura County!

]]><![CDATA[Zanzibar]]>Tue, 26 Jun 2012 02:43:14 GMThttps://www.serenakelsch.com/blog/zanzibar

An Zanzibar Aquamarine and Corral Sunset

Zanzibar, an island off of the coast of Tanzania, has been a trade center between Europe, the Middle East and Africa since the 15th Century. Known as one of the Spice Islands, Zanzibar is the clove capital of the world. The island is a semi-autonomous principality of Tanzania, with it's own laws and government. Beautiful Zanzibar has a history of religious tolerance, with Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and Jews all able to agree on one topic, the benefits of trade.

Emily and I had the opportunity to visit Zanzibar for a couple of days in mid-May before going on safari through Tanzania's Serengeti.

Please click "read more"

I fell in love with Zanzibar. The country has a stable government, social cohesion, strong infrastructure, a thriving trade sector, plenty of work, not to mention gorgeous beaches, a comfortable climate, and fantastic food.

A majority of people in Zanzibar are Muslim, and the main language of the island is Kiswahili, which is a combination of Arabic and African languages. One of the best parts of the trip was being able to use my meager Arabic language skills while learning some Kiswahili.

Emily and I had the opportunity to visit Stone Town, a World Heritage Site and the historic section of Zanzibar, whose buildings are constructed out of corral. The city consists of a labyrinth of roads and alleys, many that can barely fit a motorcycle.

We visited the the Sultan's Palace, which is now the House of Wonders and provided great insight into the culture and history of the island.

Walking through Stone Town with a guide, we had the opportunity to see the famous handmade doors of Zanzibar. In Stone Town, when constructing a home, the door is the first piece constructed. Traditionally, these 11-piece doors are handmade in India, and can take 3 months to 2 years to carve. The doors are adorned with multiple symbols including but not limited to fish scales and waves, illustrating the importance of ocean life in this coastal community, a chain to represent security (and some argue the slave trade), and lotus flowers to signify rebirth.

Emily and I also had the privilege of seeing Freddie Mercury's family home. Freddy Mercury was born in Zanzibar, is of Indian descent, and lived in Stone Town until he left for boarding school in the United Kingdom.

Our tour guide shared with us that that Zanzibar does have a history of social unrest, but not because of religion. Zanzibar has a diversity of faiths, with Stone Town having over 50 Muslim mosques, 2 Christian churches and 1 Hindu temple, and is known for it's religious tolerance.

Unfortunately, a few days after Emily and I left Zanzibar, Stone Town was closed because of riots where the two Christian Churches in Stone Town were burned down by religious extremists, something unheard of in the past.

Zanzibar is a beautiful island, with a rich history, accepting culture, and prosperous trade. Thankfully, things have cooled down in Stone Town, the issues are internal, and are not a direct threat to expats. According to the State Department, Zanzibar and Tanzania are safe for foreign travel.

I left Zanzibar with a beautiful painting of a Stone Town door, a turquoise and coral bracelet, an aquamarine blue Kikoy, a bag full of spices, and shoes full of white corral sand. After an intense 2 years of graduate school and 6 months of hard work in Kisumu at OGRA Foundation, Zanzibar was the perfect kick-off to a fantastic 3 weeks of travel around the world.

I'll be sharing Emily and my adventures through the Serengeti in my next post!

To see the rest of the Zanzibar photos, click here.

Kilimanjaro

A fisherman's boat

The Sultan's Palace, now the House of Wonders national museum

A Habitat for Humanity Kikoy

Emily and Serena at the House of Wonders

The Harem Bridge: This is where the Sultan's wives would enter the Palace, unseen by the public.

One of Zanzibar's Famous Wooden Doors

An example of the 3 types of Zanzibar Architecture, Gothic, Indian and Middle Eastern. (Windows in the background)

The inside of a Zanzibar Home

A Traditional Healer's Shop

Stone Town Market

A Spice Stand

Fish being delivered to the Market

Life in Zanzibar

The Old Slave Market, constructed over with a Catholic Church, in honor of Slavery Abolitionist Livingston

A Christian Church and Muslim Mosque, in Zanzibar- a local symbol of religious cohesion. (This Church was burned down less than a week after this picture was taken)

One of the oldest doors in Zanzibar, and my guide

The Spikes are to Prevent Elephants from Breaking In (There are no Elephants in Zanzibar)

Palm Leaves for Prosperity, Chains for Protection, Waves to Represent the Ocean

The Doors with Rounded Tops are Muslim Families, the Doors with Squared Tops are Hindu Families

A Wall Made of Corral, with the Traditional Wooden Door

One of the oldest and most ornate doors in Zanzibar, at the home of the Sultan's Architect.

A graduation gift to myself, a painting of a Zanzibar door.

The artist and salesmen, wrapping my painting

Freddie Mercury's Childhood Home (They Keep it Classy with the Air Conditioner over the Sign)

Emily, standing underneath the Girl Scout Symbol, at the Stone Town Portuguese Fortress

Portuguese Fort Constructed out of Corral

Curious Locals

Serena and Emily's Beach Pad on the Northern Shore of Zanzibar (Second Story)

]]><![CDATA[Traveling Through East Africa]]>Tue, 29 May 2012 05:38:19 GMThttps://www.serenakelsch.com/blog/traveling-through-east-africa

Zanzibar

Sorry for the belated Blog Posts. I have spent the last few weeks traveling through Tanzania and Kenya, without any cell phone or internet access.

I will be posting to the blog soon, with all of the exciting adventures!

]]><![CDATA[A Retreat Facilitation]]>Sun, 13 May 2012 09:33:33 GMThttps://www.serenakelsch.com/blog/a-retreat-facilitation

OGRA Foundation's Strategic Plan Retreat Team

Kiswahili word of the week: Kumaliza. Kumaliza means to finish.

This week and next week mark the beginning of the end of my time in Kenya. Last week I facilitated the OGRA Foundation Strategic Plan Retreat, my last full day of interning at OGRA Foundation is Wednesday, I turned in my last assignment for graduate school last night, and I will soon be going on fantastic adventures with friends and family throughout Kenya and Tanzania.

To read the rest of this blog, please click "read more" on the bottom right.

Over the course of the past 3 months, I have been evaluating OGRA Foundation's 2007-2012 Strategic Plan, and then developing OGRA Foundation's 2012-2017 Strategic Plan.

I used both a participatory and direct observation approach, based on U.S.A.I.D. guidelines, to evaluate and develop the strategic plans. This included reviewing the past strategic plan, researching current and past OGRA Foundation programs, projects, and policies, interviewing staff members, visiting OGRA program sites, creating multiple S.W.O.T. analysis, identifying OGRA achievements and challenges, researching the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals, World Health Organization standards, Kenyan line ministries policies, programs and goals (such as the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education), and collaborating with OGRA staff to both align our goals with local, national and international stands as well as where OGRA Foundation wants to see itself over the course of the next 5 years.

Last Thursday and Friday, I facilitated OGRA Foundation's first staff retreat, a culmination of our work on the Strategic Plan over the past 3 months. OGRA Foundation very generously hosted the retreat at POA Place, in beautiful Eldoret, Kenya.

The purpose of the retreat was 5-fold:

Review OGRA Foundation’s programs and projects, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, successes, and challenges.
Ensure the accuracy of the Strategic Plan.
Identify and fill program and project gaps.
Refine and finalize OGRA Foundation future direction and goals.
Create buy-in and align staff and board on OGRA Foundation’s future direction and goals.

The retreat was a huge success! There was a lot of discussion, everyone participated, the programs and projects were refined, gaps in the document were identified and filled, and the goals were set. Most importantly, all of OGRA's senior staff feel ownership of the Strategic Plan, ensuring it's future success.

As facilitator, I will say that I was strong, and did a good job in facilitating discussion, openness, and engagement of the group. That said, I identified a couple of facilitation weaknesses, such as managing power dynamics and time, which I can improve upon.

What is most important, is that OGRA Foundation is poised to make a significant impact in reducing poverty in Western Kenya over the next 5 years. I am very proud to say that I have been a part of that process.

Next Wednesday is my last official full-day at OGRA Foundation. I'll be spending the week updating the final Strategic Plan document, based on what was shared at the retreat.

And then freedom!

I have some fabulous African adventures lined up for the rest of my time here!

Next Thursday, I will be meeting my UCSB college roommate Emily, for a week-long adventure through Tanzania. We're kicking off our adventure in Zanzibar, exploring white sand beaches and Stone Town. From there, we fly to Kilimanjaro Airport for a safari which includes fantastic views of the Rift Valley, riding alongside the 1.4 million continually migrating wildebeest, and a walking safari of the Ngorongo Crater.

My parents will be coming to visit me the day I return from Tanzania. I have lined up great experiences for them as well. We will be doing some sustainable charity work for OGRA Foundation, visiting Kisumu's Hippo Point, Impala Center, and Tamiez kuku choma. We are also going on a fabulous 3 day safari to Maasai Mara.

Then, I begin the journey home, spending a few days in London, and then back to beautiful Southern California, to start the job search.

I keep asking myself, how did I get so lucky to lead such a charmed life? I am truly blessed to have been able to live in Africa for 5 months, partner with a fantastic organization that makes such an important and sustainable impact in its community, and complete my masters degree. Not everyone has the opportunity to have such enriching life experiences and to see and experience the problems and solutions of the world, first hand.

Serena's first time north of the equator in 5 months!

Fredah and Tobias, at Dinner Before the Retreat

Peter and Charles

James, George, Ken (haming it up) and Sam

James and George

Meshack and Steve

Serena, preparing to facilitate the OGRA Foundation 2012-2017 Strategic Plan Retreat

George and David

Meshack and Peter

Ken, contemplating the discussion

OGRA's Retreat Team, hard at work

Serena, facilitating

Fredah, chipper and ready for breakfast

Tobias

Hezron

Charles

Tobias and Sam

Gaby, hard at work

Tea Time Break: 11am and 4pm every day

Tobias, the Board Chair and Serena

Gaby, Deputy Director and Serena

Serena and Peter, Lead Driver

Serena and Ken, Clinical Director

Fredah, OVC Program Officer and Serena

Serena and Sam, Sustainable Development Director

Retreat Closing Remarks

Retreat Closing Spiritual Thoughts, Song and Dance, given and led by Charles, Board Treasurer (Yes, song and dance)

]]><![CDATA[Lagnet Cric]]>Sat, 12 May 2012 21:30:48 GMThttps://www.serenakelsch.com/blog/ring-roads-clinic-and-school

OGRA's youth outreach partner, Lagnet Cric

Kiswahili word of the week: kesho. Kesho means tomorrow. The essence of this word sums up a noticeable difference between African and Western cultures. In Kenya, people talk about African and Mzungu time. In Africa Time, 10 minutes can range from 2 minutes to 6 hours. On the other hand, Mzungu Time (literally white man time), 10 minutes is 10 minutes.

I knew about and prepared myself for African Time before arriving to Kenya. Over the course of the last 4 months, I have been culturally aware, flexible, and patient of African Time. The last 3 weeks, with limited time left in Kenya, and so much to accomplish before I leave, I no longer have the patience with African Time.

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I have many things to accomplish with my last few weeks here. I am wrapping up my work at OGRA Foundation, which includes writing anther concept note, developing, leading and facilitating a Strategic Plan retreat, as well as my school responsibilities. I have two more assignments left, a write up on the retreat I lead, and a case study on OGRA Foundation.

I am feeling the crunch, and anticipate many long days at work and many late nights researching, studying and working on completing my degree.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit OGRA Foundation’s partner, Lagnet Cric. Lagnet Cric is a community based organization (CBO), whose goal is to “Rescue Our Generation, By Putting Youth First.”

Lagnet Cric began as a youth-based theater company. Their organization now has a library that provides youth-friendly information on reproductive health and community outreach theater.

They're doing great things in the community.

Lagnet Cric Reading Rooms

Lagnet Cric's Director

Lagnet Cric's Theater Director

Fredah and the ICT Program Manager

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