25 Apr JAMBO (hello!) KENYA! – Itinerary: ELDORET, KIPKAREN, ILULA & ITEN – ELI Head, Heart, Courage Workshops
Be sure to check out our first few days in Nairobi, working with doctors where JC was the lead. Our journey (or safari in Swahili) with Empowering Lives International began on day 4 after our start in Nairobi. We share our travels to Eldoret and beyond in photo stories. Our hearts are bursting with gratitude and we are humbled by the experience working on the ground at the orphanage and training centers. We were generously welcomed by the children, home “parents”, ELI and community leaders and this touched us deeply. ELI is demonstrating an incredibly strategic and practical approach in how they empower lives for the long run – importantly, sustainability is at the core of their work.
It all started with my father’s introduction to ELI followed by numerous preparation calls with Jim Caya, the COO. With collaborative input on key challenges, the most relevant material to share with the different groups and invaluable cultural insights we created HHC. Once we landed, they leveraged my work in communications, leadership, and cultivating a growth mindset and dug into the wisdom of Juan Carlos, a neurosurgeon and acting as our program director throughout our 5 days of programs. They did this better than most of our for-profit business clients. Kudos to ELI and a testimonial to how they use their resources wisely, efficiently and productively.
We started on a Saturday at the KipKaren children’s home and training center (with quick visits to the rehabilitation and eco farming facilities). Throughout the week we facilitated numerous small group and individual conversations that were all about learning, dialoguing, communicating, knowledge sharing and exploring what’s working as well as tapping into the future possibilities. This included a workshop with 20 village leaders across 14 African countries that ELI brought together for leadership and learning workshops over 10 days. We were thrilled to hear that the difficult conversations workshop was one of the most valued. We then moved to the sister home and center in Ilula where they were hosting 40+ vulnerable women across villages who were enjoying meals, singing and transformative conversations on rebuilding their lives. We exchanged on building growth conversations, influence and story telling with different stakeholder groups each day which left them and us wanting more. We used the difficult conversations model which captures the facts, emotions and identity on both side of the conversation. For example, one thing stopping new habits and behaviors, such as public toilets in the villages, is ancestral beliefs and practices passed on from generation to generation. How do you have a growth conversation on this? Carefully…with lots of questions, acknowledging emotions and respecting their identity.
Please enjoy our photo gallery and we hope it tells a story of our wonderful experience connecting with these brave leaders and how it deeply and positively touched the hearts and minds on both sides, bringing us together. Because…TOGETHER we go far.