hakuna matata

In case anyone was curious, "hakuna matata" really does mean no worries, and it is a Swahili phrase that is actually used. In real life. Not just in the Lion King. I discovered this on my first venture outside the country of Uganda, into other parts of East Africa.

First, there was Kenya. I had the pleasure of accompanying my boss, Liz, to Nairobi for a business trip. And it was quite successful, if I do say so myself. The point of the trip was to explore alternatives for suppliers, and boy does Kenya have options! What I discovered on my trip to Nairobi was how much more the business sector and the city in general were developed. There were multiple options for suppliers in each area of need we had. The city had sky scrapers and well-paved roads (residents of Nairobi may argue with me here, but all I have to say is come visit Kampala). And there was even a distinction in how business was handled.... We had suppliers tell us up front that they had certain limitations and couldn't make this or that product. We had people with real expertise respond to us honestly and on time. We had people tell us "hakuna matata," don't worry about that, we'll handle it no problem..... Not that this never happens in Uganda, but it's definitely rare... Needless to say, this aspect of our trip was pretty exciting for us and gave us a lot of hope for our partnership with companies in Nairobi.

Enough about business though, I also got to do some pretty cool things in the city. First, Liz and I took an afternoon off on Sunday and visited the giraffe reserve. We were able to feed them, and yes, the picture below shows the after effects of Liz allowing one to take a piece of food from between her lips.

Yes, I admittedly did the same.... It wasn't quite as gross as it looks. It was just so fun to be close to animals that you hear about, see on TV, in the Lion King, at the zoo... and be able to touch them and even get some lip action if you so desired.

My last day in Nairobi, I got to visit several other companies/organizations that focus on empowering women through providing sustainable employment. My favorite was Amani Ya Juu. It started in 1996 with only three women, but since then has spread to four countries and has been able to employ around 300 women! They have an amazing workshop and they produce 200+ products. It was fun to visit Amani and dream of what Sseko could look like after it's been around for 15 years. What countries will we be in? What products will we be making? How many women's lives will we have impacted? These are questions I love to think about...

So that was Kenya. It made a good impression.

Then I was off to Zanzibar. Yes, it was as exotic as it sounds. Zanzibar is an island off the coast of Tanzania. I spent most of my time there on the beach.... or wandering around the island on a spice tour..... or meandering through the narrow cobblestone streets of Stone Town. It was a magical few days.

This picture I took out of the window on my plane ride in does not do it justice.

I had planned my trip to Zanzibar to flee the city of Kampala during the week of elections. There ended up not being any riots in Kampala... There were some minor issues in other parts of the country, but I am happy to report that we have had a surprisingly peaceful election season in spite of the turmoil in other parts of the continent. So no worries. Hakuna Matata.