…For some of you, this is the first time you have heard from me since I left for Kenya. I have had an incredible five months in a beautiful country that I have started to call home. I arrived in Nairobi to give what I could to The 1010 Project and the people of East Africa, but the people here and their relationships have instead been a gift to me.

Tuesday afternoon I was offered a position with Doctors Without Borders. I applied to work with their international relief teams in September, and this week they asked me to join one of their Belgian teams in Haiti. I accepted the six-month posting as a logistician today, and leave for Port au Prince via Brussels on June 10^th.

This is an incredible opportunity for me, and an exciting adventure. I am looking forward to the challenges of working in disaster relief again. The hands-on and intense fieldwork is a great match for my personality. I love the problem solving and sometimes adrenalin it takes to get the job done. That said, this was a very difficult decision.

I am very loyal and personally tied to The 1010 Project. Our partners and beneficiaries in Kenya are my friends, the staff is like my family, and our mission provided a vehicle for my values. 1010 mobilized me as an advocate, and was a catalyst for my professional development. — I am also not done exploring East Africa. I arrived in Kenya with the goal of standing on the summits of both Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya, and I haven’t done either. On the other hand, this new position is the next step in my professional goals; it just arrived a lot sooner then expected.

Please think of me over the next few weeks as I prepare for this step. My thoughts and memories of you are what inspire my life. I will continue to be a part of the 1010 family (as I have been the last 4 years) as a donor and volunteer, and I ask you to do the same. Their model is proven, our partners are phenomenal, and their opportunities are dependent on your involvement! Please go to the website this week and see how you can Join The Story.

Thank you again for your friendship, support, and empowerment.

Keith B. Ives

I’m back in Nairobi and trying hard to stay focused and disciplined in my work for The 1010 Project.  My immediate goals are to complete the NGO registration process with the government here, write the constitution & standard operating procedures for in-country operations, & to do a written evaluation of all of our current partners.  In the meantime I am also being intentional about getting out, exploring, & having fun. I really want to climb Mt. Kenya (& maybe Kilimanjaro) before I leave Nairobi. Yes, I will be leaving Nairobi. I have been accepted to work with Doctors Without Borders/Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF) as a logistician. This is a “Roster” type position where give them my availability, & they try to find a “mission” to match my skill-set. I don’t know where I will be; that’s half of the excitement. The missions are typically 6 months at a time. I have posted myself as available starting in August. That should give me enough time to finish up what I am working on with 1010. I cannot tell you how excited I am to move back towards the relief side of the house. I have been craving something a bit more physically challenging, faster pace, & with more immediate results. I suddenly realized that I like to sweat, have my adrenalin pumped, and see the results of my work quickly… …ok maybe I’m a bit impatient.   Anyways, that’s the update. I am taking french lessons at the local Alliance Francaise. Brushing up on it will help me pick up missions with MSF faster. Check them out. They are a impressive org doing very intense work… 

I also have uploaded a number of pictures from my explorations around Kenya. Check them out here: http://picasaweb.google.com/KeithBIves

“And gradually, over the years, my faith has deepened and broadened. You cannot travel the world and experience new customs and religions, as I have been privileged to do, without eventually concluding that there is no single, “true” path to God. There are as many paths as there are searchers for the way, and part of the essence of being a spiritual being lies in treating other travelers on that road as you would have them treat you–with an open mind and a compassionate heart. These days, all I know is that the more I explore the world and its faiths, the less anxious and the more humble I become.” (Whittaker pg. 56)

This sums up so much of how I feel & what I believe these days…

After a few hours on a paved road our driver left the “hardball” and started down a dirt path. Passing pastoralists, small villages, & vast panoramic views we drove towards the National Park & our camp. We arrived in the early afternoon at a surprisingly comfortable lodge or “Safari Camp.”  We cleaned up and rested while we waited for the afternoon rain to clear up. Refreshed from the trip & anxious to see lions, we took off on our first game drive. 3 kilometers into our “hunt” we came to an impromptu river that the rain had formed. It was too wide to through a rock across (yes I tried, its what Marines do when they’re bored), and waist deep (no I didn’t try, I let someone else be the measuring stick.) We returned to camp a bit defeated. Mara = 1 Keith = 0

The next two days brought us great weather, unbelievable scenery, and a lot of lions! It was unbelievable. We drove around the savannah hunting for one animal or another: Lions, Malibu, hyenas, hippos, elephants, zebras, buffalo, monkeys, dik dik, birds, birds, and more birds…

The trip, the exploration, the bit of adventure… …it was just what I needed.

More Pictures Here

I started making my wish list too:

I really was hoping to grab these from First Ascent before I left.  Budget isn’t going to allow it though.  It is far past time for me to buy a new pack, & it would be nice to get gear that I can use to move to Kenya & for climbing trips.  (Again, Mt Kenya is calling!)

I will be working on capturing photos & maybe videos from this first trip that will help me launch a website to highlight my goals, vision, & purpose over the next year.  It should be a great way for me to stay connected to all of you who have encouraged me & continue to support this endeavor.