Today a man sitting on the sidewalk asked me to buy him something to eat. I refused him and as I walked away thought to myself that he looked pretty well-dressed to be begging.

But a few hours later I’m reflecting on it: the number of people in America who are living in poverty now (46.2 million in case you’re wondering). That’s more than one of every seven people! Who knows what might have happened to this guy? Maybe he lost his job, missed a couple of rent payments and was evicted. Or had a car accident and was hospitalized without insurance, and had to remortgage his house to pay the bills, and had his home foreclosed.

Or maybe he was trying to scam me.  But in this economy, the odds seem to be stacked against that. I wish I had helped him out after all.

I am reminded of this idea from Mother Theresa:

Better to make mistakes in acts of kindness than to hope for a miracle in an act of unkindness.

Today I visited the Nairobi National Park, one of the only major game reserves in the world located close to a major capital city.  One of the attractions of the park is an animal orphanage which provides a home to exotic animals found orphaned in the wild.  The park is a great opportunity for local people to view Kenyan wildlife without getting away from the city, and is attractive to those people who may not be able to afford the expense of a safari.

The orphanage is home to a wide variety of animals, such as cheetah, leopard, giraffe, hyena and a number of species of primates and birds.  We had the opportunity to view and get close to two baby cheetahs (4m old), a baby giraffe (3m old), and a baby baboon (3m old).  So cool to hold these little animals!  Check out selected photos below and the full album on facebook.

Lamb choma at resto in Entebbe – it seems everytime I have nyama choma it is served up a bit differently – on this occasion it took only 20 mins to prepare and was served without kachumbari (see my post on June 1 2011 for more info)

Monkeys roaming the lawn of the hotel I am staying at in Entebbe – these little buggers are fearless..

Success is great but the learning experience of failure can be even better. Embrace your vulnerabilities and don’t be afraid to stick your neck out. Seize the day and live life to the fullest!

At the East Africa Household Water Treatment workshop in Entebbe, Uganda. Just had my photo taken with the Minister of Health for Uganda

Stumbled upon this concert at a waterfront venue in Entebbe – popular local band FUSION is playing – the style of music is called “African rumba” – reminds me of calypso…

Haircut at local barbershop in Kampala. Shorter than I usually go for but hot and humid temps call for it..

In Nairobi, all traffic stopped for President Mwai Kibaki’s motorcade: 8 motorcycles and 13 cars – mostly Mercs with tinted windows. No pics allowed pretty cool!

Poverty seems to mean different things to different people. If you were to define poverty and say someone is poor, how would you do it? What does poverty mean to you? Please share your thoughts (simple or complicated) with me here or in private. I’ll collect the responses and post them for all to read, without mentioning your name. I’d love to hear from you!