By Jim Thomas I got an email message at work inviting me to come listen to Wahu Kaara, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee from Kenya. She was going to speak on campus about human rights and the post-election violence in Kenya (I teach in the School of Public Health at UNC). I had been following the news about Kenya’s disruption closely. For several years I’ve been spending a few weeks in Kenya nearly every summer. I’d been in close contact with my Kenyan friends, concerned about their safety.

I also wanted to talk with her about Africa Rising. She could probably tell us of African organizations working for human rights that we could support. I was going to be at another meeting when she was scheduled to speak, so I asked those coordinating her schedule if I could meet with her one-on-one at some other time. They graciously arranged a mid-afternoon meeting.

I found her in a conference room where a group of students that had just finished talking with her was filing out. It was 1:00 and I noticed her lunch on the table. I encouraged her to eat while I talked for a while. But soon after I started talking about Africa Rising, she put her lunch aside and began taking careful notes. I explained to her that we believe the best answers to the challenges facing African countries are in the Africans themselves – especially those working at the grassroots. I said that we not only want to support what the Africans are doing, but to learn from them. Africans have much to teach the rest of the world. I explained that we have learned this firsthand through a relationship our church has had with a Kenyan-run AIDS program in one of Nairobi’s slums.

I finished talking and asked for her thoughts or any advice she could offer. She said “You told me you are a Christian. I, too, am a Christian. Would you please pray for the answer I am about to give you?” This was the first time anyone had said this to me. I feared I had said something stupid or culturally insensitive, and she wanted wisdom to know how to respond to this poor fool sitting before her. I prayed that God would indeed give her wisdom for her words.

When she looked up, her face was filled with intensity. She said “I have been waiting for 15 years to hear these words.” She pointed to the notes she had taken while I was talking. I was stunned, waiting for an explanation. She said she had been hoping for some signs of a change in the way that Americans think about and relate to Africa. In what I described of Africa Rising, she had heard humility and a desire to learn from Africans. Ms. Kaara went on to say that when she left Kenya for this trip, she asked her church to pray for her – that when she returned, she could bring news of a change in Americans. She said “I have heard it.” Again, she pointed to her notes. Her voice was forceful when she said “I can now work for another 20 years.”

At first that seemed a bit over the top for me. How could these words give her hope and energy for another 20 years of working for change? I can’t know why those words had such an effect on her. But I can say that after I left the meeting, I too, felt I had energy for another 20 years. An African woman who has been recognized internationally for sacrificial work toward human rights was profoundly encouraged by Africa Rising. An organization that brings that kind of encouragement is something worth working for.

May 2008