 “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain
The 2025 ELI Service Trip to Kibera, Kenya was often uncomfortable. It was so much more than a project. It was a transformational experience that redefined cross-cultural immersion and united young leaders in purpose, growth, and connection. Over the course of the trip, our participants from the United States and Europe built an urban garden shoulder to shoulder with local participants (from Cheza Cheza and City Shamba). It would be shortsighted to underestimate the value of the urban garden. It has already strengthened Crossing Thresholds’ feeding program(s). Yet the power of lasting relationships that transcend borders is the greatest gift. As Mark Twain once wrote, “Travel is the death of prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.” Listen to some of the reflections from our trip participants about the power of shared service, cultural exchange, and what it means to lead with heart. Here’s what they had to say about the experience: “What an experience! What I got to learn was: the value of common purpose, fresh perspectives, and mutual trust. I enjoyed interacting with all the members, celebrating a wide range of skill sets, and allowing for both our differences and similarities. I left feeling motivated, grateful, and ready to carry these teachings forward. See you soon!”
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 In April, my dear friend and ELI co-chair, Ashley Hart, wrote a beautiful blog about turning childhood dreams into realities and what it means to become individuals capable of creating a lasting impact. If you have not read her blog, I encourage you to read hers first because this blog is about the embodiment of that vision.
This July, The Emerging Leaders Initiative embarked on our first trip to Kenya with a full team of young professionals ages 18 to 39. To give some context, ELI was founded under the principle that an organization dedicated to empowering the futures of tomorrow MUST include young people at the table. That is where ELI comes in – to expand our reach, express our concerns, achieve our goals, create impact, and make sure there is always a pathway for young voices to be heard. So, that is our mission. At our core, Crossing Thresholds is about connection and community building. We believe in collaboration – building one team, one community, all of us rising together. On this summer’s trip, we took this philosophy and ran with it, creating the first-ever team that was not only American volunteers but also Kenyan volunteers. In other words, we had young people from Crossing Thresholds combined with young people from two partner organizations: Cheza Cheza, and City Shamba “City Garden”. Together, we built and launched an urban garden to supplement the feeding programs at CT’s schools. We did it! But just as important as the garden, we built a community. From Strangers to Heart Family: My Journey With CT By Ryanna Cook, Mrs. Washington America 20256/12/2025  Before I ever marveled at the beauty of the Kenyan landscapes or held the hand of a child in Kibera, I was a young twenty-something from Washington state who understood poverty from the inside out– at least, in America.
I grew up moving 1-2 times per year, living in, at best, unkept subsidized apartments - and at worst with my three sisters in a dark, single-window basement tucked within an alleyway. Our single mother had started her adult journey as a drop-out teen mom with burned bridges - each of us girls having different fathers who were either too unsafe to be around or who just didn’t want to be around. Our household survived on tax-funded resources - food stamps, free lunch programs, and community donations. We shared everything. But it often wasn’t enough, and we endured the abuse and neglect that often accompany poverty. Those years left a mark, but they also planted a seed. Because even in those hardest moments, as we felt the cold sting of shame – a few people chose to place themselves within our reach, offering stability, resources, and love. People who became family to me, whether related or not – my heart family. They showed me that I could lead others in love one day. Their belief in me built belief in myself, and I became the first in my family to graduate from high school and to attend and graduate from college. I broke cycles of poverty and abuse– having married my dream partner, building successful businesses, saving our niece from those same cycles and adopting her, and building our dream home, and - just this year - earned the title of Mrs. Washington America. All because others showed up for me. The heart of my story didn’t fully awaken my sense of purpose until 2014, when I took a leap of faith and joined a group of strangers traveling to Kenya with Crossing Thresholds. I wanted to positively impact a community, but hardly had a sense of what I was walking into - in fact, I had only just learned of CT via an acquaintance who heard Carter Via speak on NPR while she was working in California! I took my first trans-Atlantic flight with my husband’s full support, and met CT organizers and participants for the first time, in Kenya!  In 2020, I found myself spending a lot of time thinking about two questions: 1) How could I get involved with Crossing Thresholds as a volunteer beyond trip participation? 2) What could I do to help quell the extraordinary pain that COVID-19 was causing in our communities in Kibera? Not only did it turn out that Becca Schneider was asking herself the same questions, but also that the answer to those questions fundamentally aligned with a vision that Carter and Faith had for bringing young minds into Crossing Thresholds. Together, we saw a unique opportunity: creating CT’s Emerging Leaders Initiative (ELI) - a way to bring fresh ideas and energetic young people into Crossing Thresholds to create the future of CT’s leadership and drive meaningful, lasting impact. I’m so happy to share that the dream we had for ELI has become a reality.
After five amazing years as co-chair of ELI, I’ve decided to step down from the position. As part of the process of making that transition, I wanted to share a bit about the journey that we’ve gone through and the way we’ve grown. I also wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on the ways that I’ve grown as part of ELI. And finally, I wanted to write this blog for anyone who is asking themselves how they can get further involved, like I was. If that sounds like you, reach out and let’s chat!  In 2014, Becca Schneider and I stepped onto a plane for my first trip to Kibera. It was during this trip that our conversations drifted to discussing the accessibility of non-profit work and our desire to find ways to let more people share in these experiences. By the end of our trip, a pact was made that we would one day co-chair a board of a non-profit together to bring our visions to life. This pact was memorialized by a calendar reminder set to go off in 2024. When this reminder went off eleven years later, we were ready to make good on our promise to each other and to Crossing Thresholds (CT). Now we are co-chairs of the Emerging Leaders Initiative (ELI), and we are preparing to run our very first ELI trip together. As we take these next steps, I wanted to reflect on how I got here and what this journey means to me.
ELI did not start with me, it began as a commitment from the senior leadership at CT - a way to bring fresh ideas and energetic young people to the forefront of the organization to create the future of CT’s leadership and drive meaningful, lasting impact. The original team of Josh Pedowitz and Becca Schneider brought the incredible vision of ELI to life, and I am excited to step into this role alongside Becca to continue to expand the reach of Crossing Thresholds and ELI. Together, we are opening doors for young leaders within our own communities who want to bring their time, effort, and creativity to the Kibera Slum. |
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