No better way to start the year
Introduction
Moving from the holiday spirits and mood into work can be a challenge sometimes- or all the time. That is why often we prefer having opening ceremonies, vision casting gatherings or theme planning sessions as an organization just before we kick off the year, and the beginning of 2023 was no different.
This year comes with a lot, and as the famous saying goes, “we hit the ground running.” Because of the many activities, we couldn’t manage to meet as a team until the beginning of February. It was wonderful to see everyone drop in one after the other. All of them full with the amazing stories of where they had been or the wonderful things they did over the holidays. It was amazing to just sit and watch as everyone shared light moments, cracked a joke over the lunch time meal or posed for a picture in the bright rays typical of the Watamu warm evenings. Together we laughed, celebrated and encouraged each other, because we knew that at some point through the year circumstances with bring us back to these moments.
There is a lot, and I mean a lot, that we have planned for 2023. Just at the beginning of the year, part of our science team travelled to Tanzania for bird counts. This was closely followed by the Tana River bird counts and the Wader counts within Kilifi county. It is always a joy to listen to Colin tell stories about birds, but this time, hearing him speak about the Tanzania count just moved things to a whole new level.
The proud science team
2023 will see the culmination of four of our projects: BID-GBIF which has been running for two years, the Slovak-Aid Kitchen gardening that has been going on for a year, the Leventis project in Dakatcha and the KCDF project in ASSETS. That means there is a lot of things to be put in order, reports to write and submit, and a lot of finishing up to do. It also means the race to look for new projects, grants and funding is on.
Just within two months, we have witnessed three bird counts, published datasets under GBIF, said goodbye a few goodbyes to former workmates, welcomed new faces to the team and continued with the ICC beach cleanups.
That is why that one day to slow things down, take it all in and share a moment was more than a gift to all of us. We will need to remember that warm feeling of friendship, family and love as we journey through the new year. Even in low and frustrating moments, all of us will still give all we can give because we know, we are not doing this alone, we have got each other, and above all, we have got God in our corner. HE doesn’t shy away from saying boldly, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous.” Isaiah 41:10
Meet the team