Stories from the Horn #170
May 30, 2023
This week I want to point you to some of the work my organization has launched in Djibouti. If you are local, check these out!
The International School of Djibouti, the best school around!
BikeSKILL, meeting all your biking needs in Djibouti and training local entrepreneurs.
Wells Woodworks, high quality wood products and investing in Djiboutian craftsmen.
An Old Essay
This is a new section in which I will link to one of my own older articles. Enjoy!
“Bring a Big Knife to School” Day, in The Smart Set, published in 2013
Awarded a *2013 Best American Travel Writing Notable Essay.
On to more stories from the Horn.
Djibouti
Girls Scouts in the USA ship cookies to the military base in Djibouti. I remember my daughter’s troop one year were part of passing out cookies. They had 10,000 boxes! Every soldier got two boxes of each kind of cookie and the girls brought home boxes upon boxes. No complaints here!
Djibouti, Berbera, and Dar ports all pass Mombassa’s port in new World Bank ranking of ports. Djibouti ranks among the best on the continent.
Djibouti football team to play Pakistan and Kenya
Somali/land
Al-Shabaab attacks African Union peacekeepers, high death toll feared
Mogadishu regulates rickshaws to ease traffic jams
“Arday” is the first TV series filmed in Mogadishu in 30 years, a 10-part series about high school students
Boxing is making a comeback in Somalia
US confirms strike against al-Shabaab in southern Somalia
Dr. Edna Aden wins prestigious Templeton Prize
Diaspora
Mosques vandalized in Minneapolis and St. Paul
Have a wonderful week.
Thanks for sharing about these local organizations and business, and for all the insightful and interesting articles. And I adore the "Bring a Big Knife to School Day" essay, plus, congrats on winning the award for it! Both your daughter's and your courage and confidence shine through in your respective roles and actions in this piece, and I love, and am inspired by those qualities of yours. Plus it is wonderful to read in your account of the knife purchase, plus reflections, about your growth in understanding and being ever more able to adeptly navigate even more complex and nuanced sorts of interactions in this culture. I have great admiration for you and your family in this, knowing you've invested a lot in relationships, language learning, plus taking a posture of curiosity and humility, and maintaining a strong sense of humor, making this progress possible.