Home.

It truly is a strange situation to wake up wondering where you are. It's even more confusing when you wake up in your own bed with that feeling.

On my first sleep at home after spending about 10 days in Kenya, one could say I needed an adaptation period. The landscape of my room looked pretty unfamiliar too... Though that could be because it was 3:45 AM and I had been more or less awake for 28 hours, traveling from Nairobi to London, London to Toronto, and being interminably delayed in Toronto before finally arriving in Montreal.

Remember the travel delay at the beginning of my trip? The train to Ottawa? Well, I guess it was just fate that my trip should end the same way. Told you it was an omen!

Luckily, the bulk of my trip, from Day 1 to... what day are we today? went more than smoothly. We visited multiple projects a day, spent a lot of time in matatu-like buses, often snoozing because many of the days had scattered schedules that made for not so much eating time. There were times when lunch was at 5pm, and breakfast had been at 7am!

All in all though, it was worth it. More than worth it! I've got loads of pictures and videos to sort through, stories to tell with all the knowledge I accumulated, and I met people, both AKFC Awareness buddies and those aided by the projects, that I will never forget.

It was a lot to take in and I'm not sure I've figured any of it out yet, so I might take a few days to put my thoughts in order. Good thing I took some notes!! The pictures will also be a great memory aid. Hopefully, I'll be able to enlighten you with more details on what we saw and experienced throughout this once-in-a-lifetime journey.

I promise to update soon, so stay tuned...

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On a side note, and a very emotional one, the first news story I saw after coming home from Kenya was a report on the death of two men in a helicopter crash in Quebec. One of them was my buddy Hugh Haugland, longtime cameraman for CTV, who was a kind and inspiring person, funny and dedicated, and a mentor to me. I remember him saying he longed to go to Afghanistan, as dangerous stories were his specialty - he covered 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, etc - but was going to respect his family's wishes and stay out of seemingly unavoidable harm's way.

My condolences go out to anyone who ever had the good fortune to hang out with this great guy. It is a sad day for us all.

Hugh, you will be missed.

Ndoto: Countdown to Kenya

This blog post is very special. Not only does it mark the beginning of my first overseas trip, it's also my first ever blog-by-email (NOTE: Blog-by-email failed. VIA free-because-it's-slow-and-not-really-working-station-Wi-Fi worked). Let's hope the formatting doesn't get too messed up!

You might also notice that my grammar and spelling is poorer when I'm typing on my BlackBerry. I blame it on the fingers. I promise my brain is fully functional.

"Ndoto" is the Swahili word for "dream". I found it when I first leafed through my brand new Lonely Planet Swahili language guide, and it seemed oddly appealing. I have been using it for the past week or so in my Gtalk and Skype status messages but now, I am finally ready to make it public!

This trip truly is a dream. It definitely seems like a dream. Until last night, or even this morning, this whole experience didn't feel real. I guess the fact that I'm spending an extra day in Ottawa before the group arrives probably contributed to that, but it's mostly because I just don't know what to expect!

Luckily, we received a lot of guidance from Aga Khan Foundation Canada, who is organizing the trip. I am also fortunate to have a good friend who is from Nairobi and who could enlighten me on weather patterns and local customs. I'm very thankful to be staying with her mother for a few days after the AKFC portion of the trip is over.

The purpose of the trip, as I think I might have mentioned in an earlier post, is to provide promising volunteers with an opportunity to visit the project sites we work hard to raise funds for through the World Partnership Walk and meet the people whose lives we are attempting to change. There is no doubt in my mind that this will be a life changing event. For one, I will probably learn the benefits of packing light.

More importantly, I think I will be humbled by the simpler way of life, one which I have always admired but never seem to be able to adopt. I will be using my laptop to backup pictures but I probably won't be online much, if at all. Sure, there are some health concerns, but if I'm smart with my choices, there shouldn't be any problems. I am a little concerned about theft based on the research I did on various travel sites, but people like to complain a lot... So I'm taking their feedback with a grain of salt. Or two.

I am very excited about the opportunity to see for myself how poverty affects not just individuals but whole communities. I can't wait to be amazed at how happy children are to go to school or help out on the farm. I know that I will feel pain at some of the sights and wonder at parents' smiles even though they live in conditions that developed countries would term despicable.

On a personal note, I am SO excited to be going to Africa much earlier than I had planned. To be honest, I had penciled-in Europe and Australia beforehand, but my first real overseas trip - I don't think trips I took as a baby count - and first exploration of a different continent couldn't start at a better place: East Africa, where my mom's family grew up, a mere border away from where my mom was born!

I am also thrilled that I will be able to do a safari. The plan is to do a one-day trip locally, probably to see some giraffes and elephants, and then, once the AKFC portion of the trip is done, do a 2-day, 2-night stint in Masai Mara.

All in all, it's sure to be an unforgettable, once in a lifetime trip. *insert more clichés here*

I will be keeping a journal throughout the trip and might post them directly to my blog, so keep checking this space over the next 10 days!

Bonus trip update: My VIA train to Ottawa was delayed by 45 minutes due to technical problems. Then they canceled it and put us on a train leaving one hour later. That's a 1h45mins delay. My dinner plans are definitely ruined, but I wonder... Is this a bad omen for the whole trip or just a coincidence? Also, could these "technical problems" be a pressure tactic? Inquiring minds want to know!

Stay tuned...

Has it really been that long?

Once again, though I promised myself I would update my blog more regularly, I somehow managed to go without creating a new post for a whole month! This is despite adding it to my "TO DO" list on a regular basis.

Proof that sometimes, life happens.

The World Partnership Walk was a complete success by all standards: The on-stage entertainment was spectacular, from the MCs to the dancers and musical performances. We finally got our cake - to celebrate the 25th anniversary - and ate it too!

In terms of media, the Walk garnered lots of media attention. I did an in-studio LCN interview on the morning of the Walk, which attracted a reporter from Radio-Canada Première Chaîne, a reporter from Quartier Libre, an alternative publication from Université de Montréal, and a photographer from Le Devoir. We also had pre-Walk coverage from CPAM and CJAD. All in all, that's pretty good coverage, especially when compared to the previous years.

The turnout was exceptional too... Over 2,500 people attended the Walk in 2009, which is more than ever. By comparison, the 2008 Walk only drew 1,500 attendees. Montreal not only met its fundraising goal, it surpassed it by at least 60K! We raised over $200,000 on Walk Day.

After the Walk, I went on vacation to Kingston for about 10 days. Didn't spend much time in Kingston though. Instead, we went to Toronto for a few days, to Canada's Wonderland and the Toronto Metro Zoo. What fun times!! The rides were awesome, and the animals were adorable. Plus, I got to meet a few new cool people.

We also went canoeing on Gould Lake and had an island picnic, did a little roadtrip to the Sandbanks' Dunes Beach for a hot steamy day of sand, tan and splash... Here, we spent some time in the water tossing around the Frisbee and tiny little fish would approach us and bite our toes! It actually felt really nice... like a well deserved foot rub! But even better, when we were still for a while, a larger fish (possibly a steelhead trout?) came swimming around our legs. First one, then another, and another and all of a sudden, there were dozens! The best part, for me anyway, was this fish swimming up to me cautiously, then swimming through my legs, brushing my left leg a bit, then getting freaked out and hurrying through... then coming back alongside the other leg and brushing that one too!! It was absolutely awesome!

One of our other roadtrips took us to Carleton Place on the outskirts of Ottawa, where we had a delicious dinner with yet another fantastic couple. In fact, this trip was full of little excursions, new discoveries - both on the road and at our various destinations, and, most importantly, I got to meet lots of great new people. Yes, I would say I've made new friends :)

Back from Kingston and back to real life... I went straight to the World Partnership Walk Montreal post-mortem meeting, and then returned to my daily routine of translating, applying for various broadcast, new media, marketing or communications jobs.

Then this weekend, I attended the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in my hometown, Montreal. What a blast! I met some more great people - though not at length because of my back to back scheduling - and enjoyed the whole experience, overall. Of course, the night was a bit long at times, especially since the first few picks went exactly as expected and Montreal was only picking 18th. Lucky for me, I was able to meet up with some of the folks I traditionally work with at Bell Centre events and catch up on the past few months. That was definitely a thrill, as was meeting the Habs' first rounder pick, Louis Leblanc in front of the Sheraton Hotel later that night.

Did I mention the TweetUp? The organizers of the NHL Draft Tweet Up are exceptionally talented... Even though I didn't attend the second day of the event - gotta have a lazy day every now and then! - I've got nothing but praize and thanks to offer. Thanks to their great organizational skills, the NHL sponsored the event by offering 50 complimentary Draft tickets (valid for Friday and Saturday), which is how I ended up there in the first place!

In summary, it's been a pretty hectic month... especially when I got the news that I was GOING TO AFRICA!

That's right, folks! A the end of July, I will be taking a 17h flight to Nairobi, Kenya to participate in the Aga Khan Foundation Canada Awareness trip. Basically, the Foundation selects certain people that they think could benefit from the experience of seeing AKFC-sponsored projects first-hand, obviously to help further the cause by acting as its ambassadors. I was chosen because of my involvement with the World Partnership Walk. And as you should know by now, 100% of the profits from the Walk go straight to these AKFC projects, which means that I'm paying my own way all the way. It'll set me back a cool $5,000 but given the cost of doing this kind of voyage on my own, there is absolutely no reason why I shouldn't participate in this programme.

We will be spending a few days in Nairobi and some in Mombassa, and the fact that we're travelling in groups and with local guides will help ensure our safety throughout the trip. I can't wait to see all these places for myself, experience the sometimes troubled culture of East Africa, and hang out close to where my mom's side of the family used to live. Plus, I'll probably get to see some pretty cool creatures in their natural environments. Overall, it'll be an excellent learning experience, no matter what I choose to do with the rest of my life. If anything, it'll help me better understand a different demographic of the world... and who can argue with the benefits of that?

Of course, I will take lots of great pictures and keep a journal so I won't forget to update you.

Stay tuned...

Follow-ups and promos

Let me preface this post by saying that if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you probably didn't miss me much. Or maybe you aren't satisfied with 140 character updates. Either way, here's the deal:

That first Dome gig for Showtime boxing? It was awesome!! It was great to work with a crew full of people I already mostly knew and meet some new people. I learned a lot about different aspects of technical producing and it was fun to see how the setup is different for Bell Centre activities that aren't hockey or concerts.

That second Dome gig? Never happened. Though that had nothing to do with me but everything to do with union issues. Oh well.

Union issues have been the bane of my existence lately. Well, maybe that's a little bit harsh. But with CBC cuts, job postings that are only posted to meet union needs or those that are either already filled or non-existent, well... you can probably deduce that I haven't been successful in my job search yet. Many positions have been applied for. Some have received letters of rejection, which, honestly, is better than no letter at all and leads me to believe that I at least got somewhere in the recruitment process. I am also still waiting on a couple of potential interviews that are taking forever to come to fruition. It might not work out so I'm not holding my breath. But it's nice to think about every now and then.

And now for a friendly public service announcement. As you know, I have been working on the World Partnership Walk. All my hard work culminates this Sunday, May 31st, when 2,000 people will gather at Mount Royal Park near Beaver Lake from 10am onwards. It's hard to tell at this point, but so far, I think our awareness-raising media and marketing efforts have been pretty successful!

You might have seen our street-level ads via Pattison outdoor advertising if you've parked your car in a parking lot along Ste-Antoine street in downtown Montreal or drive alongside the Bonaventure highway.

We've managed to get our PSAs on Global Montreal and CTV Montreal - I caught one on the latter earlier today and I got so very excited!! And, although CBC Montreal would have aired them, we had a few tape delays, which is most unfortunate. We were also able to get a web banner on KahnawakeNews.com. Plus, I made it on the Kevin and Trudie Show on CJAD 800 News last Friday for a quick segment on the World Partnership Walk. It was so great to speak with Trudie again... even if it was just over the air!

In terms of Walk Day activities, I volunteered myself as Stage Manager, which means that I get to do a lineup and script for our MCs, David Gutnick from CBC Montreal and Kimberley Sullivan from Virgin Radio 96. We have some dance items and music performances, and a great local DJ. Plus, we're gonna have a giant LED screen - think Bell Centre Jumbotron - with a live feed, which gets me excited in so many ways... I'm such a TV geek!!

Of course, the Walk itself is for an amazing cause: raising funds and awareness on global poverty. I'm so glad that we'll be able to celebrate our 25th anniversary in style!! As you all know, 100% of the funds go directly to projects and programmes organized by Aga Khan Foundation Canada that help people help themselves by increasing their quality of life and livelihoods. And to end my little pitch: it's not too late to get involved or raise funds: Simply log on to www.WorldPartnershipWalk.com and register as an Ambassador or with a Team. Of course, the easy way to contribute is to make a donation sponsoring me for the Walk, which you can do super easily by clicking here!

In other news, I've joined the Journalism chapter of the Concordia University Alumni Association and attended my first meeting as an official member last night... I can't wait to help organize our great events next year!

Still waiting on Olympics opportunities for the 2010 Winter Games, whether it's via employment or volunteer involvement, through the host broadcaster or VANOC.

You can be sure that I'll keep you posted - even if it's with a delay - so stay tuned...

Why I Walk

In the past few weeks, I have been donating all my extra time to a very important charity project. After years of sitting back and watching the event unfold, I have joined the World Partnership Walk organizing committee.

Those who have read my blog before already know about the cause. The Walk is an annual event in 9 cities across Canada to create awareness about global poverty and raise funds to find a solution to it. It's actually the largest international development fundraiser in the country, and 2009 marks its 25th anniversary!

Happy 25th, World Partnership Walk!

Of course, now comes the part where I reach out to you and ask you to contribute to the cause. You're probably expecting me to tell you some sob story about the extremely poor children in Afghanistan or Africa who live on less than $2 a day, some of the 3 billion people who do. Or maybe you think I'll try to convince you by telling you that the Walk can truly help transform the lives and livelihoods of some of the poorest countries in the world, giving them hope for the future.

Well, all that is true. But here's why you should support the World Partnership Walk:

Global poverty is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Even during these tough economic times, there are people poorer than you and I, more desolate and desperate. The recession is even tougher on them.

The truth is that fighting global poverty is a war, and one that we can all contribute to ending. Last year, 40,000 Canadians raised more than $5 million via the World Partnership Walk, and every cent of it went to AKFC - that's Aga Khan Foundation Canada, a non-denominational, not for profit organization - international development projects that help communities help themselves.

Every cent. There's 0 overhead.

The Walk is organized almost entirely by volunteers like myself who donate time and energy and sacrifice sleep (lots and lots of sleep) to help change the world and give hope to those less fortunate than ourselves.

This year, I know we're all strapped for cash. But we've shown in the past that being Canadian, being human, really, is being compassionate. Giving a little when we can't afford to give a lot, but hey, at least we're giving!

This year, I want you to WALK with me. I'll take your money, of course, because that's definitely an important step to eliminating global poverty. But I want you to join me on Mount Royal Park near Beaver Lake on Sunday, May 31st in Montreal (and most other Canadian cities), and walk the walk.

Why do I walk? Because I care. Because I can - and not because I have to for basic needs like food, water, education...

I walk because it's my little way of making a tangible impact.
Changing the world. Spreading hope. Being a hero.

Just like we always dreamed...

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To help me reach my $1,000 fundraising goal, click on my personalized World Partnership Walk page at: http://www.akfcnetcommunity.ca/netcommunity/njinnah

While you're there, maybe you can create your own page, and together, we can make the world a better place. And make sure to receive all the latest Montreal World Partnership Walk updates by following @WPWMtl on Twitter.

Please sponsor me for the World Partnership Walk (Montreal)

This year again, I'm walking in the World Partnership Walk (Montreal - Sunday, May 25, Beaver Lake on Mount Royal, 11am).

If you haven't heard me talk about it before, it's because I usually don't. I usually just put on some running shoes, maybe help out on the day of the walk, but mostly just show up and follow the pack.

When I was younger, I used to raise funds every year, by asking random adults in the community center to sponsor me. Now, it's YOUR turn to be the random adults.

But wait! What's this walk all about, you ask? Here's the official text (and yes, it's all true):

"World Partnership Walk raises funds to help improve the lives and livelihoods of families and communities in Africa and Asia through health, education and rural development programs as well as community-led initiatives. All of the funds raised go directly to programs supported by Aga Khan Foundation Canada, a private, non-denominational, Canadian development agency. Not a cent is spent on administration."

Now, I haven't raised funds in a few years, but this time, I want to contribute to the global community. With everything that's going wrong in the world, all the negativity in the media, it's nice to know that posing a small gesture can help someone so much on the other side of the world.

Help bring all of us closer. And as the Walk's motto says so well, "You'll make a world of difference!"

PS: I'll walk either way, but your support would be appreciated.

Thanks.

You can donate online through my secure website by clicking here;
Gimme a cash or cheque in person;
Or just show up on Sunday, May 25 at Mount Royal Park near Beaver Lake at 11am and walk with me.