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January 23, 2007 - Mombasa - Kenya

by Mel Gallegos

Jambo,

We have come to the last day we would be spending in Mombasa. Our Rotarian hosts knew we would need time to pack, particularly with the items we had accumulated during our visit. Our morning was free until we would be picked up to attend a Rotary meeting at noon.

Slowly each of us made our way to the lobby, checked out and collected our luggage in one spot for loading on our bus. We knew that we would be leaving 2 of our group, Marge and Bill, who would be staying to work in the local schools. We were somewhat subdued at first but then began to share our memories and thoughts. We left with Arafat, our driver, and drove to the Mombasa Club where we were hosted at the meeting of the Rotary Club of Bahari Mombasa. Club President Nelson Mburugu greeted us and we introduced ourselves to the members of the club. We also had a chance to say hello to our friends we had met over the last 4 days. We were given club banners and then an extra gift of umbrellas. We were told that the umbrellas were from a project where they had been given out to the local police who handled traffic control to be used when it was raining and to help ward off the hot sun. They were labeled with a Rotary wheel and the name of the club.

The meeting ended and we left for the airport accompanied by many of the Rotarians. There we said our final goodbyes. The handshakes and hugs were a little tighter and there was a reluctance to let go. We knew that we would not see many of our friends for sometime.

We went through security and began the long journey home.

I can’t speak for everyone but I know that we all shared similar feelings. It was bittersweet to be leaving. We were going home to family and friends. We would be going back to our lives in San Diego with its familiarity. But deep inside we were reluctant to leave. We had become close to our Rotarian brothers and sisters in Uganda and Kenya. We had been welcomed like long lost family members who had come home and now we were leaving.

I will be back. I had left a little of my heart there in Africa and that part would always be calling for me to return.