Moving to Rwanda - The Start of Blood:Water's Permanent Field Presence in Africa

In just a few short days I am going to move to Rwanda. My mind is consumed with the details of what it will take for me and my bags to board the plane. There are itineraries, schedules, check-lists, and to-do lists. There things to be packed, last items to be bought, and other things to give away. There are addresses changes and emails and phone calls. The question of whether I will forget something is a moot point - now I just hope it is nothing major.

Every day I try and take a few minutes to put the tidal wave of details on hold. I take a deep breath and remember what it is that I am doing. I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and remember. I am moving to Rwanda so that I can be closer to our partners. I will no longer have to take a transatlantic flight and suffer from hours of jet leg every time I visit Africa. Instead, Africa will be my home.

As Blood:Water works to move deeper, this step is an important one. It is the first step that puts us on the ground in Africa full time. It means that it will be easier for us to facilitate collaboration, follow trends in development, and be innovators of new ideas. It takes away the literal and figurative ocean that separates America and Africa. Right now the potential seems endless and our white boards are overflowing with ideas here in the office. We have dreamed of this opportunity for years, and now it is becoming reality. What an honor it is for me to get take this step.

Of course, it will take weeks, months, and sometimes even years for those ideas on the white board to become reality. It would be so much more simple if our ideas were small, our thoughts simple. But every complex, large idea starts at a single point and time and grows from there. In the coming year, my hope is to write here every month to share with you the journey as it develops - from the simple to the complex, the small to the large. If there is something specific you are curious about, ask your questions in the comments, and I will try to answer them in future posts.

And now my deep breath is over; my lists take over. I so look forward to making my new home in Rwanda, when these lists can be declared done and my life find a new normal. Thanks for joining the journey.

~ Pamela Crane PhD - Africa Field Manager