Commitment brings change

Kathryn Nelson doesn’t just dream of sustainable development,
she makes it happen.

By Kathryn Nelson

Kathryn Nelson

She calls me the girl with the black heart.

Black, like her skin, my Kenyan sister says. Black, like her.

I came to Kenya as a naïve journalist believing that Africa, like so many of my colleagues had said, was solely full of suffering and hate.

And, yes, I did see much pain. I was stationed at the Mt. Elgon refugee camp in Kenya in 2007 and I witnessed atrocities at the hands of greedy governments, selfish Westerners, and self-righteous religions. But out of this pain came possibilities.

I had worked as a reporter for most of my career, seeking to cover wars and disasters, going where many of my peers wouldn’t go. I had volunteered in the slums of Mexico, ventured off to remote villages in Costa Rica, and lived among the relatives of the desaparecidos in Argentina. But my time in Kenya forever changed the way I thought of development, humanitarian aid, and my personal place in this life.

At Mt. Elgon, I handed out clothing and other items that would only last through the season. This was not what development should be, I thought. Kenyans don’t need our pity offerings; instead, we need to work together.

So, one rainy night in July, my host father and I cofounded the Nafula Foundation, an organization focused on sustainable development in the Western District of Kenya. We imagined medical clinics staffed by local citizens, schools run by honest and passionate community workers, lush fields of ever-growing crops that didn’t waste away every year.

Now, in its fourth year, the Nafula Foundation is gaining momentum. We have a small farm run by citizens of Chebukwa village. We have clean water from a system installed by a group of University of Minnesota students. We have a school, which is being revamped to accommodate more students. Most importantly, we have come together to make positive change.

So, yes, I am the girl with the black heart. As my Kenyan sister says, we are just the same.

Kathryn Nelson is a freelance journalist and student in SPH’s community health education program.

• Read more and watch a video about Kathryn Nelson