Stories from the Horn #159
October 25, 2022
This week Resource Exchange International, my NGO, sent a film crew to Djibouti to make a short film for internal use in the organization. They also got some shots of our multiple extra-curricular activities from mountain biking to card games to me running. The director produced a Super Bowl commercial in the past, and worked with Tim Tebow. So, from Tim Tebow to Rachel Jones!
I showed my kids some pictures from the video shoot and they teased me about being a model now. And though it is true that I have also been on the cover of a magazine, I don’t think modeling is my next career choice.
It was a fun few days, pretty amazing to watch people doing creative work that they are clearly very good at.
I’d like to share two interesting resources about Africa, they aren’t current news stories but books. Africa is Not a Country by Dipo Faloyin is a book our Horn of Africa Book Club read this month. The resulting conversation was easily the best conversation we’ve had yet, and we always have a good time! I recommend this book if you are interested in a funny, interesting, and informative book covering things from how colonialism divided the continent to what to do about artifacts in museums now and the white savior complex.
Another book I am reading is Traveling While Black: Essays Inspired by a Life on the Move, by Nanjala Nyanbola. The author is Kenyan and while she explores being a traveler all over the world through her Kenyan lens, she also highlights Kenya and Somalia in ways I appreciated reading about.
On to the news…
Djibouti
The President of Djibouti opened up this year’s conference on climate change
Caritas Djibouti empowering farmers
Another review of the gentle and lovely Djiboutian film, The Gravedigger’s Wife
A new library in Djibouti, built in partnership with Camp Lemonier
This October marked the 20th anniversary of the US military base’s welcome in Djibouti. To mark the day, we attended a party at the US ambassador’s home and enjoyed a bit of shmoozing.
Improving Djibouti
I heard that a traffic circle in Djibouti was renamed the 9/11 Memorial Roundabout but I can’t find any verifiable information about this. If you live in Djibouti and are familiar with this, please let me know. Which roundabout? When did this happen? What was it named previously? Thanks!
Ethiopia
*note on the articles I share about Ethiopia’s war, I am sharing articles, not taking a political stance.
Ethiopian soldiers take a strategic city in Tigray
Averting atrocities in Ethiopia’s war
Malawi finds a mass grave of Ethiopian migrants
Somalia/land
Rethinking the humanitarian financing system
Somaliland President’s term extended by two years
Drought in photos. I hesitated to post this because I don’t want to only be posting about the hard things. But, it is also a true hard thing. I encourage you to also read about rethinking humanitarian financing and the book mentioned above, Africa is Not a Country by Dipo Faloyin, to begin developing a broader and more historical picture.
Diaspora
Somali communities abroad struggle to send money back home
See you in a few weeks!