I decided I needed to ‘get away’. And in typical fashion one idea led to another and the next thing I know I’m getting on a flight to Africa in 6 hours.

I needed some time to step back, reflect and get out of my head for a bit. Working as a scientist and university professor is incredibly rewarding and wholly satisfies my intellectual curiosities. I make fascinating discoveries, add to the collective knowledge of society, and educate many people. However, there is something missing for me. These things are my job. While I wouldn’t trade my job in for any other, I want to do more. And there are so many things that can be done…

There is an entire continent in need. People without food, water or shelter. People in Africa live in conditions I can’t even begin to comprehend. And while I have no delusions that I alone could significantly alter the course of a continent of people, I think I can make an impact on a few lives. At the very least, I want to try.

So this is my idea: teach young women a sustainable trade. Give them their first opportunity to learn, create, and possibly to earn a living. With no education and few trades to participate in, children orphaned by AIDS have no opportunities in life. I’ll be working with 17 women from an area around Kakamega, Kenya, who participated in a survey about their hopes and dreams, and expressed their desire to learn a skill. The trade I’ve decided to teach them is primitive rug hooking. This craft originated in Atlantic Canada when settlers needed to reuse and conserve everything they had. Old clothes were ripped to strips and threaded through burlap feed sacks. Where I am headed – the Western province of Kenya – used clothing cast-off by developed nations is widely available, and coffee beans are traded in burlap bags. Hopefully this means the trade will be both sustainable and new.

Who knows where this will lead. Give a man a fish and he will be fed for a day. Teach a woman to hook a rug…