My two years as a VSO volunteer are coming to an end: I’ve accepted a position as a Linux system administrator with a Kenyan-based non-governmental organization, ILRI. I’ll be working with ILRI from August – December, and then we’ll see after that. I’m done with VSO. That means I’m done with teaching. I’m done with snakes and scorpions. I’m done with Tala. I’m moving to Nairobi. I will miss this place but maisha iendelea ( “life goes on”)!
I arrived in Kenya in October, 2007 and was supposed to stay until October, 2009, but I’ve changed my mind. I began looking around for jobs in April or so I think, and I had just about given up hope when ILRI contacted me in June. Before then I hadn’t heard anything from any of the 7 positions I had applied for. Nothing! Not even an automated “Thanks for your application” response. I guess the sheer number of applications makes those sort of courtesies impractical? Who knows.
More about the position: ILRI is a research institution, they use clusters of Linux servers to perform complex calculations like DNA sequencing. I gave that description to one person, who then told another person, who then asked me, “Alan, I thought you were against animal testing?” Haha, you’ve heard about companies trying to make drought-resistant crops? Yeah, ILRI does that sort of thing with livestock (most people in developing countries derive their livelihood from pastoralism). I’ll be working with the scientists to make sure their systems are up to date, running well, processes documented, etc.
Interesting links:
- International Livestock Research Institute
- Why Livestock Matter on ILRI’s website
Stay tuned for more information.
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Lover of Linux, death metal and Indian food, blogs about living and working in Nairobi, Kenya.
Good luck, rafiki! Since this blog is titled ‘Alan in Kenya’ I guess you will continue to post here when you move to ILRI.
sudo apt-get install ilri-common ilri-tools
sudo dpkg –purge snakesd scorpionsd tala-tools
:-)
Haha! Yes, I’ll keep posting when I move to Nairobi. It’s good I didn’t choose “alanintala.org” I guess :)
As for dpkg, ILRI uses Red Hat so I’ll have to start getting used to rpms!
All the best in your new job and I’m sure lots of people in Tala will miss you.
Thanks, I know I’ll miss Tala. Luckily now all my friends from Tala can come crash at my place in Nairobi.
You know what I’ll miss the most, the mama who cooks chapatis at the junction! Delicious.
What does ILRI stand for?
International Livestock Research Institute, see http://www.ilri.org/ :)
ooh..this is a funny and interesting article! I was jst researching more about ILRI and I came across this.
Your excitement is infectious!
All the best and enjoy urself.