Kenya day three

 Manage your expectations… yes, that’s definitely a good suggestion. It’s a basic skill, always useful, especially when all you’ve been planning for the past three weeks twists into a new plan, unexpected and disappointing.

Our third day in Kenya started as the previous: woke up early, breakfast and briefing with Jen at the hotel, packed the camera and videocamera and took a cab. We had to meet the TNT personnel we already met at the airport the day we arrived. The taxi we took had to pass through the town to reach the restaurant where we were supposed to meet our Kenyan colleagues. The sun was shining through a layer of light cloud, and everything was so colored. People were managing their businesses, as usual, on the streets of Nairobi, surrounded by a chaotic traffic that congested the whole town. The taxi was going quite slow…the perfect moment to take some pictures with my camera. I took good pictures along all the way to the restaurant. There were five of the Nairobi TNT staff waiting for us, Faith, Lydia, Susan, Peter and Victor. They introduced us to the Kenyan cuisine, which was very spicy and in gravy, and we chatted through lunch about the company, the differences between our countries, then Kenya and the Kenyan people, their traditions and their folklores. We had a really good time with them. Then we moved to the TNT head office, near the Jomo Kenyatta airport, a little building beside the road that leads to Nairobi town center, and took some shootings and some interviews. We were waiting to be ready for the interview with Victor, and I was hanging around with him, chatting and laughing while waiting for Jen that was in another office. Everything was perfect until that moment…then suddenly something broke up.

Jen opened the door that separated the front desk, where Victor and I were standing waiting for her, from the office and came in. She was wearing an expression I never saw on her face, disappointed and sad…very sad. She just said:

“We have a problem with the WFP, they can’t provide transportation to Dadab, they can’t provide the security along, they’re not even sure where the food is, and they can’t assure us that they’ll do the distribution on time. We are not authorized to go there…I talked to Rose from the head office. They want us to go back. I’ve already booked our plane: we’re going home tomorrow.”

Our trip to Dadaab was basically the only reason why we came to Kenya. Without the trip all our mission would turn into an office tour with a nice plane journey and a couple of days in an exotic country. Ok, nice, but we did not came to Kenya to have a holiday… I could not believe it. I wanted to go to Dadaab so badly that I started thinking how to get there without the WFP authorization. I thought to go there with another organization, to go to another camp, even to give up with the ERT and eventually with TNT and go there on my own as a simple journalist…Jen rejected all my ideas. My life was under her responsibility, under TNT responsibility, and the insurance would not cover me if I went there on my own. Our hands were tied.

I saw Jen was sad as I’ve never seen her before, almost giving up, and that’s really weird from a person I was used to know as dynamic, strong and willing. It was really a bad moment.

“Sorry,” suddenly Victor said “there are other ways to get there safely…let me check.”

He picked up the phone and in ten minutes he planned a complete trip to Dadaab, with armed escort, 4WD with skilled driver, security consultant and accommodation for two nights in one of the various NGOs operating in the camp in which a friend of his was working with.

“Simple, uh? Is it enough to get the authorization from the head office?”

I was speechless… A pure logistician, used to manage complex and difficult situations with ease. WFP should employ more guys like him!

A spark of life shone again in Jen’s eyes…she grabbed the phone and reported Victor’s solution. It was good enough…we were authorized to go to Dadaab.

Jen and me could finally breath, stressed as hell and still could not believe that the trip is finally materialized…Victor was simply smiling, almost lying on his chair, his hands at the back of his head, satisfied and proud.

“I’m coming with you guys.” he said “It would be nice to have a small trip!”

He saved us, no other words can describe what he did. From that moment on, Victor was no longer just a Kenyan colleague. He became a trusted travel mate, and above all a friend.