The Eternal Sundown

I recently returned from two and a half weeks in Africa, visiting and connecting with communities doing justice.
The purpose of our visit to Africa was to meet the communities of Teenseed in Kenya and the Ratong Center in Botswana, as part of the Know Your Place Initiative.

A collaboration between Thistle Farms and the Center for Contemplative Justice, the mission of the initiative is to invest in not-for-profits so that justice is done with dignity.

It is a huge gift to know that while our small team is on these visits, a loving, powerful community is accompanying me, magnifying any small contributions we make.

I am also reminded that the communities all of us have worked to maintain have laid the groundwork.

Our journey began with a beautiful and humbling site visit with the amazing Teenseed team in the slums of Nairobi.

Teenseed nurtures young Africans into leaders, helping them develop powerful voices to articulate their rights and hold leadership accountable for injustice.

Founder Winny Oburo and her team envision an Africa where young people sit at the decision-making tables, their views and rights respected, with the ability to make informed choices about their lives.
They are miracle workers growing love in harsh conditions as they turn dirt and water into a healing space.

Our next stop on this trip was to Botswana.

We landed and twenty minutes later were sitting at dinner with the Ratong Center board and founder Pearl Ncube.
With a vision for building the first safe house and justice enterprise center for survivors in Botswana, the dinner was filled with stories of hope and tenderness.

Our next stop on this trip was to Botswana.

We landed and twenty minutes later were sitting at dinner with the Ratong Center board and founder Pearl Ncube.

With a vision for building the first safe house and justice enterprise center for survivors in Botswana, the dinner was filled with stories of hope and tenderness.

With Pearl's remarkable leadership and vision, as well as a heart as big as the Kalahari, the Ratong Center is already outgrowing their original plans for the safe house!

It was wonderful to be back in Botswana and enjoy the Setswana culture that celebrates everyone's voice.

In the last few days of our trip we traveled to South Africa.

Our days were filled with team meetings to formalize commitments, a plunge in the Atlantic at the bottom of the world, and hiking cloudy, hailed mountains.

I left this trip with a renewed heart and a humble longing to continue this work.

While at dinner on the last night of our trip, I started to cry.

I cried in part because I was a little tired. Mostly I cried because it's all so tender and I have been reminded of the gifts, the injustices, and the resiliency of people who are vulnerable and are living in desolate circumstances.