Headed In The Right Direction

A year ago today, I was getting myself settled into a mostly empty, cozy little cottage on a post-colonial compound in the Senior Quarters of a Northern Ugandan village called Gulu.

I had landed in Kampala on June 6th, 2007, and on June 8th, I traveled the 6 hours north to the place that would be my home for the next 8 months. In a way, I still miss the little Pepto Bismol pink and pistachio green cottage behind the main house on Plot 26, Samuel Doe Road. I miss the quiet cool mornings, and the rooster next door crowing each morning, and the orange trees in the back yard.

But every time I order a root beer Frosty float from Wendy's, I am acknowledging that I DON'T miss life in Gulu. It was so very, very difficult....even though I have to admit I'm grateful for the borderline case of severe malnutrition that left me with a figure so youthful, I don't even remember what to do with it.

Last night, June 16th, 2008, I sat on the plush microfiber couch in my brother Peter’s house in Northwest Washington, watching a heavy rain fall. It felt like a bit of a dress rehearsal…. in exactly one week, I’m headed to a place where winter is just beginning. There won’t be any snow, but the cool, rainy weather over the next few months there will be an absolute blessing after the brutal heat we've had on the East Coast lately. And I’ll be returning to my “calling,” the work I’ve decided makes me feel most fulfilled and challenged and fully alive.

On June 24th, I will fly to Nairobi, Kenya to begin my one-year Knight Health Fellowship through the International Center for Journalists. I’ll be based at The Nation newspaper in Nairobi, which is part of the group of media houses owned by the Aga Khan. (If you don’t know who the Aga Khan is, Google him. Here’s the shorthand: when God needs a payday loan, he turns to the Aga Khan for help.) The Nation is trying to launch its first in-house training unit. I’ll be assessing the training and mentoring needs for reporters, and leading workshops like I’ve been doing for the past five years.

I’m really, really excited and happy about this new chapter. Yes, I know some of you are already thinking, “Umm, Nairobi??? Isn’t that where people were rioting in the streets as recently as 5 months ago? Weren’t there widespread, brutal attacks throughout the country following a disputed presidential election? Or, in “keepin’-it-real-speak,” weren’t people getting chopped up like coleslaw over there? And couldn’t it all happen again????”

“Yes, yes, yes, and YES.” Trust me, I’ve sorted through all of that in my mind and heart. I’ve embraced all the usual homilies…”Tomorrow is not promised to any of us, Life is too short, Step out on Faith….....and I can get shot and stabbed right here in good old DC almost as easily as I could in Nairobi.” I guess I’ve decided that if there’s a slightly higher chance that I could be brutally murdered, I’d rather have it happen while I’m doing something to help my fellow human beings, as opposed to coming home from a happy hour with friends in DuPont Circle.

I know, that’s a little too flip, but it’s really how I feel these days. Of course the danger stakes are a bit higher in a volatile African nation, but I’m ready to take my chances. And besides, I’ve got my own personal Archangel looking out for me every step of the way. I’ll be just fine, really. In fact, when I think about heading to Nairobi is just seven short days, I’m reminded of a song by one of the most righteous young songwriters on the charts today, Ms. India Arie. If I had to describe how my life feels these days, I would tell you that I am…..

Headed in the right direction
I can see the light of day
I've got love as my connection
There's an angel showing me the way

Been reaching for love all my life
I couldn't find it always one step behind it
Now I know it was mine all the time,
Finally I am

Headed in the right direction
I can see the light of day
I've got love as my protection
There's no need for me to be afraid

I spend so much time with my head in the clouds
Now that I've got my feet on the ground
I found that I am

Headed in the right direction
I can see the light of day
I've got faith and intuition
Telling me that I will be okay

Down the path that I walked there was lies
Somebody told me that I look like I'm glowing
They just dried all the tears from my eyes
Now I can see that I am

Headed in the right direction
I can see the light of day
Now I've found my pearl of wisdom
There's no need for me to be afraid

Headed in the right direction
There's an angel showing me the way

Headed in the right direction
I have found my inspiration