I call shenanigans.

Hello everyone...sorry I didn't manage to type in this sooner, but I really didn't want to admit to the fact that this amazing trip has ended. I had such an incredible time in Samburu and I feel truly blessed to have connected on such a deep level with the amazing community of Umoja. I will save the photo posting and journal excerpts until I get back into the states because right now I am currently typing this on a weird computer in the London Heathrow airport.

What I will say is that CSU seriously needs to re-evaluate their managment of international affairs within the university. For those of you who are not aware, some high ups at CSU made the decision to change our original travel arrangements for our "safety." As I talked abut in previous posts, there has been an on-going political situation in Nairobi concerning the presidential elections and there was rioting in the slums. On the 4th, Brett got a call from someone in the SLCE office at CSU telling him that people outside of the SLCE office (which our trip was organized through) went over our heads and changed our travel arrangements by making us leave Africa 24 hrs earlier. These plans entailed the booking of 2 chartered flights from Samburu to Nairobi because it was decided that it would be "unsafe" for us to make the usual 5 hr drive. Since our plans had been change by a day we needed place to stay in the city, so they booked us at the 5 star intercontinental hotel and we were directed not to leave the hotel for the entire time of our stay (over 24 hrs). It was clear that our decision makers had no clear idea of Nairobi or even the meaning of safety, because as it turns out or hotel was nowhere close to the airport and only about 5 blocks from our original hotel. Not only was our hotel in relatively the same location, the President of Ghana was there the morning of our arrival making statements about the current political situation in Kenya. Needless to say, I felt much safer with the beautiful women of Umoja than I did during the time CSU made us stay in Nairobi.

Brett and Sean handled the situation perfectly, but I know I can speak for the students when I say that we feel cheated of one cherished day in Samburu, all uder the false pretenses of our safety. Leaving 24 hrs early did not make a damn difference in our group safety and if anything, made us more unsafe considering that political discussions had happened in our hotel only hours before we arrived. To put the icing on the cake...all of our extra travels (i.e. chartered plane rides and a 5 star hotel) was paid for through a CSU EMERGENCY FUND. This clearly was not an emergency and I feel slimy to have been part of an estimated thousands of useless dollars that was spent to change our travel plans by a measly 24 hrs. If CSU really wanted to make a difference they could have spoken with Brett and Sean before making such an outlandish decision and put that money towards food, clothes, and education for the children of Umoja because that is truly an emergency.

I have said my piece for now, and when I get back in the States I will post photos and tll you some amazing stories. I am sick of typing on this sticky metal keyboard.