Safari, Back to Jinja

We stopped over at Queen Elizabeth National Game Park on our way back to Jinja. It was a good break and always fun to see lions, elephants, warthogs, hippos, crocs and more birds than you can even imagine. Hadley and Brett especially enjoyed it.

Reading during down times has been Same Kind of Different as Me, a story of how a homeless man and a wealthy man come to understand each other through a meaningful relationship. It reminded me quite a bit of how Africans have taught me through their own way of life and how I've been privileged to interact in their lives over the years.

I also picked up From Poverty to Power by Duncan Green, a new book published by Oxfam International. Here's a quote that I like from the introduction...

"The reverse of 'multi-dimensional' poverty is not simply wealth (although income is important), but a wider notion of well-being, springing from health, physical safety, meaningful work, connection to community, and other non-monetary factors. That is why good development practices build on the skills, strengths, and ideas of people living in poverty - on their assets - rather than treating them as empty receptacles of charity."

We'll continue to work on that very thing the rest of this week in Jinja. Two more hours of a crazy drive and we'll be there. Our group is a little travel weary and ready to settle in for a few days.