Sunday 4 January 2009

Shifting target? Or just expanding?

I have been approached by a businessman in Cameroon to shift the malaria-control project to Cameroon. He reckons that he could find financial backing for the project, and that is tempting.

But I can't do that. My loyalty is with Kenya. Kenya is my love, my mistress. Kenya is my second home. So, when the project gets off the ground, it has to be in Kenya.

But, that is not to say that when it is established and I have proven to myself that we are on the right track, I will not expand to Cameroon [or Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi ...]

I am a bi-lingual English/French speaker, so communication will not a problem in Cameroon, and I am not against helping Cameroonians (is that right?) or any other people, wherever they are, but they have to accept that Kenya takes priority.

Or am I looking at the problem with blinkers?

2 comments:

Wamuhu Mwaura said...

I was born in the States, but Kenya is the home of my soul. You must, though, do what's best for the project. Kenya is, after all, part of a larger community. If a backer is to be found in Cameroon, then shift the project to Cameroon. A success there might likely be just what you need to bring the project to the attention of a backer who can help you expand it as is your hope.

A thought...

BabaMzungu said...

Hi WM
You are probably right, but I have already got a clinic on board in Kenya to carry out the trials, and a second NGO to help out.
All I need to get started is a small amount of money to survive whilst in Kenya.
However, if I get sponsorship for Cameroon, I will have to accept, but I am hoping that we will have got under way in Kenya.