September was a varied month with some highlights and some darker times.

We were shocked by the horrific attack on the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi. As those of you visit Nairobi know, it is popular with many ILRI staff who shop of visit the cafes and restaurants.  Fortunately none of the ILRI family was in the shopping centre at the time of the attack, although many ILRI staff know of people affected. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected.

The start-up planning workshop for the new USAID-funded Small Scale Irrigation Project was held with visitors from Texas A & M University (including the former ILRI Board Chair, Neville Clarke and DG, Hank Fizthugh), IFPRI and IWMI.  Plans were made to initiate the project in Ethiopia and then expand into Ghana and Tanzania.

On a personal note, my daughter and her fiance made their first visit to Africa, spending a week in Ethiopia, exploring, Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Lalibela and the Zebu Club. I then traveled with them to Kenya where we visited the Maasai Mara and other parks in Kenya as well as spending time in Nairobi. They thoroughly enjoyed their time here and will be back soon.