The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trough, approximately 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi) in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in East Africa. In eastern Africa the valley divides into two, the Western Rift Valley and the Eastern Rift Valley. Eldoret sits atop the high plain between the two, as does Lake Victoria, the second largest area freshwater lake in the world, to the west.
Because the rapidly eroding highlands have filled the valley with sediments, a favorable environment for the preservation of remains has been created. The bones of several hominid ancestors of modern humans have been found there, including those of "Lucy", a nearly complete australopithecine skeleton, which was discovered on November 24, 1974 near Hadar in Ethiopia by anthropologist Donald Johanson.
Named Australopithecus afarensis, "Lucy" is an extinct hominid which lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. Recent analysis in 2006 calls into question her place as our ancestor, yours and mine. Nonetheless, I will be liberal with the use of the idea of a "Cradle of Humanity". I find it a fascinating context in which to view the events in this part of the world, somehow casting tragic events in an even more tragic light. The same applies to the state of affairs in Iraq, once Mesopotamia and commonly considered the "Cradle of Civilization".
Which brings us to the first installment of what I hope will be a regular piece... call it Current Events Kenya. We will strive to include any "feel-good" stories that make news in Kenya. This is not one of those stories.
As for Current Events Anne & Joe, we arrived safely if not by the expected route. Apparently, London was closed yesterday. We were able to get re-routed through Amsterdam, but had to jog it up through both Chicago and Amsterdam airports to make connections. Our bags didn't have that same sense of urgency. There was a first for me on our flight to Amsterdam, an early start to doctoring in a resource-poor setting. I'll let Anne tell the story. Our last leg takes us on to Eldoret today.
And because it's going on midnight EST, we'll say good night... or lala salama in Kiswahili,
Joe
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