Seventeen Years Since I Last Set Foot in Africa

During October, I spent two and a half weeks in Tanzania.

When I realised that it had been 17 years since I last left the African continent,
I was momentarily stunned.

So much has changed over these 17 years -

From being a mid-career professional “in transition” to becoming a “senior.”

From living “alone” to becoming a mother.

From being rootless to putting down roots.

And from a disconnected world to one that is “always connected.”

Looking back, I feel deeply moved by how much has shifted.

Back then, when I named my blog My Little Corner of the World,
I truly felt “left behind” by the rest of the world.

Today, being able to connect easily with anyone, anywhere, at any time,
feels almost miraculous.

I can’t help wondering - if I were now stationed in the same remote field location as I was back then, how would I feel?

Would I still feel “left behind” or “utterly alone”?

In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing reflections on what I was feeling,
thought about, and did in Tanzania.

The first post is about what has changed in these 17 years.

I’d be delighted if you read it and shared your thoughts or comments.

 

A Wake-Up Call

This trip to Tanzania was, quite literally, a wake-up call for me.

Returning to Africa - the place where I first received my “baptism” as a humanitarian field worker in international organisations - I was involved in
“Participatory Rural Appraisal” activities in Tanzanian villages.

Through that work, I reconnected with the roots of my role as a facilitator:
creating environments that enable genuine dialogue with people in the field.

It reminded me once again of the preciousness of listening to each individual voice.

This experience sharpened my sense of direction -
of where and how I want to focus my work -
and gave me the courage to move toward where I am truly needed.

In fact, these expressions in the previous sentence came from a friend the other day, when we were talking about how this trip had been a real wake-up call for me.

She also said, “It’s becoming clearer where you really want to pour your life energy.”

Those words touched me deeply - I want to hold on to them dearly.

I’ll be writing more about what this “awakening” meant in a future post.

 

A Dear Friend Returns to the Earth

One day while I was in Tanzania, I received a message that made my breath quicken.

It was from the wife of my friend, H, letting me know that he had passed away.

In the past 25 years, I had never received a message from her -
so when I saw her name pop up, part of me already knew what it might be.

I will write a full post about H in time, but to share a little:
For 25 years, he had supported me unfailingly by sending handwritten postcards,
no matter where I was in the world.

Especially during the period when I was writing My Little Corner of the World,
living in places where postal delivery was impossible -
his cards reached me via the internal “pouch” mail system of my organisation’s Geneva headquarters, often taking many days/weeks to arrive.

I cannot express how much comfort those cards gave me.

In truth, I met him in person only a handful of times.
But I now realise that true human connection has not much to do with how many times you meet someone physically.

Even now, I find tears welling up whenever I think of him.

H was laid to rest on the 24th of October in a natural woodland burial,
returning to the earth.

 

Dialogue Salon and Learning Circle

The two programmes I mentioned in last month’s newsletter are about to begin!

The first session of the Dialogue Salon on Nurturing Inclusive Spaces (in Japanese) will take place next Thursday, 6 November,
and the first English session on Thursday, 4 December.

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The Japanese version of the other programme,
Learning Circle: Where All Voices Are Heard, will also start its first phase - reflection -
in December.

The English version will come in early next year, so please stay connected
by visiting the dedicated page on my website (in both English and Japanese)
for details and registration.

I’m really looking forward to deepening our shared learning together!