It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace

by Rye Barcott

In 2000 Rye Barcott spent part of his summer living in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya. He was a college student heading into the American Marines, and he sought to better understand ethnic violence - something he would likely face later in uniform. He learned Swahili, asked questions, and listened to young people talk about how they survived in poverty he had never imagined. Anxious to help but unsure what to do, he stumbled into friendship with a widowed nurse, Tabitha Atieno Festo, and a community organiser, Salim Mohamed. Together, this unlikely trio built a non-governmental organization that would develop a new generation of leaders from within one of Africa's largest slums. Their organization, Carolina for Kibera (CFK), is now a global pioneer of the movement called Participatory Development, and washonored by Time magazine as a 'Hero of Global Health.' CFK's greatest lesson may be that with the right kind of support, people in desperate places will take charge of their lives and create breathtaking change. Engaged in two seemingly contradictory forms of public service at the same time, Barcott continued his leadership in CFK while serving as a human intelligence officer in Iraq, Bosnia, and the Horn of Africa. Struggling with the intense stress of leading Marines in dangerous places, he took the tools he learned building a community in one of the most fractured parts of Kenya and became a more effective counterinsurgent and peacekeeper. It Happened on the Way to War is a true story of sacrifice and courage and the powerful melding of military and humanitarian service. It's a story of what America's role in the world could be.

Genres: Nonfiction, Africa, Memoir, Military Fiction, War, Biography, Biography Memoir

352 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2011

About the author

Rye Barcott co-founded the non-governmental organization Carolina for Kibera (CFK) with Salim Mohamed and Tabitha Atieno Festo while he was an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earning his B.A. in Peace, War, and Defense. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 5 years in Iraq, Bosnia, and the Horn of Africa. Barcott then earned master’s degrees in business and public administration from Harvard University, where he was a Reynolds Social Entrepreneurship Fellow and a George Leadership Fellow. In 2006, ABC World News named then Captain Barcott a ‘Person of the Year’ for his dual service to Kibera and the Marine Corps. In 2009, he joined the inaugural class of TED Fellows. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and daughter and works in the Sustainability Office at Duke Energy. (from http://ithappenedonthewaytowar.com/ab... )

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars if I could. But, alas, 4 stars it will be given. I enjoyed this book quite a bit.

[Rhianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there are two things I'm a sucker for, they would be Africa and the USMC. Picking up this book was a no-brainer. Liking it, however, was a completely different story.

Being familiar with Kibera thanks to a college friend's organization (Children of Kibera Foundation) but not being familiar with the other efforts there, I was really excited to learn about another organization that helps communities using African solutions to African problems. Barcott may have set up CFK out of a desire to help and make a difference, but without the community support and belief over years of its existence, CFK would have petered out after a year or two. What he has started is nothing short of a miracle.

The sections pertaining to his deployments were at times difficult to read for personal reasons, especially when he mentioned the call for blood at the clinic after a unit took some heavy losses. Despite there not really being the gore of a war memoir, I felt it was a good and honest look into the deployments, even if on a superficial level. I can truly appreciate what Barcott had experienced without his needing to get into sordid details, as it helped the reader understand his blurry lines between the youth in Iraq and Kibera.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and kind of felt a longing for more even after the epilogue. Admittedly I still have yet to do more research and donate to CFK (like I said, I'm a sucker), but I wanted to see how the clinic held up after the Kenyan violence a few years ago. I wanted to hear more about his battlefield realizations and learn about how CFK now fits into his life.

It's like through reading this book I have spent hours chatting with Rye (yeah, we are on first-name basis now) and becoming his friend. I am amazed at his will and thankful for his service to the US and to Kibera. I'm even more thankful that he took us on this journey and reminded us that we could all be doing more with our lives if we really wanted to. It doesn't have to be a big to-do, but it could be something.

[Antof9 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what's becoming of me - I just read another nonfiction book and LIKED IT. It's rather confusing, really. But here's the thing: this is a great book on leadership. It's a great book on how doing something little can pay off in big ways. And I love the idea of how $26 can ... well, you should read the book. One of the things that struck me was how (in skimming the cover flap) this story reminded me of Jake Harriman's story. Jake is the founder of Nuru International. They're obviously different -- Rye knew he wanted to do this work before he was actually in the military, and his work is in the city; and Jake decided to do this work as a result of his experiences fighting the war on terror around the world (you really should watch the video here), and his work is rural; but still - both of these men have been deeply affected by both Africa and the Marines (and both are affecting change in Africa), which I find fascinating.

There is a lot about this book I liked, and only a little I didn't. I marked many spots and now have to decide what to include here and what to leave out. There are flashes of humor in here, among the heavy stuff where he's just recording what happened. For example:

A gang of men hanging out at Darajani Massive looked at me curiously. A white man walking in Kibera without an entourage was uncommon. ... The biggest, meanest looking guy was at least six feet tall, with biceps the size of my neck. He snarled at me and gnawed on a piece of wood, a toothbrush kienyenji.

"Vipi beshte. Napenda toothbrush kienyenji jako. Wewe una meno kama simba," I greeted him in Sheng and Swahili: "What's up friend? I like your traditional toothbrush. You have teeth like a lion."

The gang burst out laughing.

Learning the local language and more importantly the language of the youth ("Sheng, a language ... that mixed Swahili, mother tongues, and gangsta rap lyrics") is part of what makes me respect Barcott, and frankly makes him a thousand times more legit than many people in his circumstance.

And then parts that swiftly moved me to tears. Barcott goes to Nairobi and his only solid point of contact is an acquaintance of ... an acquaintance:

Elizabeth was the acquaintance of Jennifer Coffman's who lived with her husband, Oluoch, in a housing development adjacent to the slum called Fort Jesus. Elizabeth and Oluoch welcomed me on my first night with a feast of beef stew, a maize meal called ugali, and sukuma wiki, collard greens.

"Karibu Kenya." Oluoch greeted me with a firm handshake. "I am your father. This is your mother."

And then more humor: "They certainly didn't look like my parents."

It's fascinating to walk side-by-side with the author as he grows up and learns about the world. In describing something difficult and a fellow soldier's help with it, he learned some valuable lessons: "Gobin had taught me an invaluable lesson in leadership. He had taken the initiative and reached out when he saw a way that he could help. He had given of himself to better the unit. I respected that and began to emulate his style. In so doing, I made fewer mistakes because I was less focused on myself." That's a lesson we wouldn't even all *see* while we were in the middle of it. I'm so impressed with his insight into himself and others.

Some of the discussions he has with his commanding officers give me renewed hope in ... well, the world, honestly. These men have integrity, character, leadership skills, and compassion. Many of them reminded me of my dad. The story about going to make a presentation at a fundraising dinner and the ethics of wearing his uniform or not was both familiar to me and inspiring. And I loved the comment from Major Boothby: "... Now you need this money for humanitarian work in Africa, right? [yes, sir] And you need to raise half of it, a total of ten thousand dollars, before I endorse your request to take unpaid leave as a new second lieutenant and spend the entire summer in this African slum, right? [yes, sir] Well, that's a noble mission. So wear your uniform and do us proud."

I'm getting long winded, so I'll note two final things that I really appreciated while reading. 1. when his mom tells Tabitha the story of his name (from Catcher in the Rye), and the conversation around it, and 2. the words "grass, flower, wind" from Tabitha and the Psalm he found them in many years later (yes, I actually read "poetry" in a book!)

As for mortals, their days are like grass;
they flourish like a flower of the field;
For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from
everlasting to everlasting.

This book earned one of my highest "tags" - the one of "made me think", and I couldn't put it down. I feared it would peter out like What is the What?, which while interesting, left me depressed and sad because it (and his life) went nowhere. This one ended with hope, which is my favorite way to end a book.

[Tessa :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me two years to finish, but I did it and I am glad I did. The motivation and dedication it took to live this life is amazing. The writing is incredible and I am just blown away by Rye. This book is definitely going in my top five favorite nonfiction books and I highly recommend it.

[Evelyn Horvick · Rating 5 out of 5]

It happened on the way to war: A marines path to peace
By: Rye Barcott

This book is told in First Person by Rye's account. This is an effective format because the book is an auto biography about Barcotts time in the Marine Corp. and his missions in Kenya.

This book only really has 3 main characters. Rye Barcott, the main character and whom the book is in view of. He is a young adult learning how to balance the struggles of his new life bouncing between Chapel Hill, NC; Kibera, Kenya; and Wherever the Marines send him. While also trying to maintain a new and rich relationship with his now wife, Tracy. Another important character is Tabitha Atieno Festo. Tabitha is a easy going woman with a passion for nursing. she has grown up and lived in Kenya her entire life and thought she would need a miracle before she would be able to open up her own nursing practice, and then In comes Rye. The last main character would be Salim Mohamed, a Kenyan living in near death facilities until he meets his best friend, Rye, Who would change his life forever.

In this book many challenges are faced and over come but only one really sticks out to me. The rapidly dropping age of criminals in Kibera. Barcott realizes this while being mugged outside a safe coffee house by a boy who was described as "a child with the eyes of a man". Rye realizes he has to do something through his charity foundation, Carolina For Kibera.

The Climax would have to be at the beginning of part III chapter 13. Change and Continuity. This is where Rye over comes most of his big problems and begins his decent back to normality. Also in this part is where the foundation is able to maintain itself without Rye constantly bouncing between locations.

This book has so many literary devices but i have a few favorites. Such as the authors never ending symbolism throughout the book. He uses chapter tiles like "the Grenade" or "The Sword" to represent peace and prosperity although these would generally be words used for war and violence. Also his personification to small details like how the sun in Kenya would shine so bright is looked as though it were waving hello to him. Another, and my favorite, device would have to be his onomatopoeia to describe all the interesting and diverse sounds he hears while at home or in Kenya.

This book is full of amazing and monumental quotes, one of my favorites is "talent is universal: opportunity is not.", which to me this shows how much of an impact Rye must've had on this city to give them the gift of opportunity and to be able to share all the amazing talents that he found. like a boys soccer skills that got him picked up by an american college and gave him a more prosperous and well lived, life. Another one would have to be "Dan extended his fist. We tapped knuckles. 'Gota [goat-tah}.' He laughed. 'They call that gota". To most this piece in the novel would be small and unimportant, but to me it shows how well Rye meshed with the locals and his willingness to learn and thrive in that environment and with those people.

I would highly recommend this book because of its detail and change in my life. While reading this book my brother was in the Marine Corp. boot camp, needless to say i was scared out of my mind. Until this book showed me all the wonderful and outrageous opportunities the military can provide for someone like Rye and like my brother, Brian.

[Sololia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in a book fair by chance. I must say it is a memoir worth reading and sharing.
I thank rye for sharing his experience and the work he has done.
He raised interesting ideas about NGO's and their inefficiency to bring sustainable change to the continent.

[Colleen Marie Zukowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay I have always been a sucker for war books and books about people who try to help poorer countries so obviously I was going to read this book. I was not let down by it at all and thought it was an excellent read. Rye Barcott (the marine in the book and founder of CFK) did a great job of showing the struggle that he went through between trying to start up an NGO in Kibera while juggling a career in the Marines. I also found it quite inspiring to read a first-hand account of one person trying to make a difference and succeeding. People often talk about doing something to help but to actually make it happen and be as involved as Rye was, it is just completely amazing. It just goes to show what humans really are capable of doing and that the need and want to help one another, no matter our differences, still does exist.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this books is how the stereotype of Marines (which I never agreed with) being aggressive and bloodthirsty was challenged by the true story of a Marine that was the opposite of those stereotypes. The books showed the compassionate nature and the fact that people join the marines and the military to help, not to fight and kill. The author does speak of a point you get to where you can either go down the dark path as a soldier or pull away from it and he explains that the dark is usually triggered by seeing too much evil or being so trained and passionate. I liked how he actually spoke of this internal conflict and when it happened to him and that he chose to steer himself away from the dark path. I think for him to talk of this struggle was brilliant and it helps you, as a civilian reader, to understand a little more of what these soldiers go through and how they can easily become hurt or broken.

I very much enjoyed the parts where the author was in Kibera and working to build CFK. It gave me insight into a world that I never knew much about and I learned so much from it. It is amazing to learn of people in such horrible situations (like living in the slums of Kibera) that are still so positive and strong and do what they can to try to make life for themselves and those around them better. Sometimes the jumping back and forth from Kibera and CFK to Marine life broke up the flow of the story a bit for me but I also understand that was what it was actually like for the author; he was basically leading two lives at the point and they did not always flow together harmoniously.

This book was well written, inspiring and hopeful. It is not often that you read a war story and finish it with a smile on your face. I feel like stories like this one are not told enough so we never learn of how much good is still being done and the strong desire that still exists to help one another. Reading something like this sparks something in the reader to want to do more and be a part of the bigger picture. I highly recommend this book and can honestly say that it is a story that I will never forget.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is a committed Marine in training and then Marine. He is also a high energy young man committed to making changes in people’s lives. He travels to Kenya to work in Kibera, a huge Nairobi slum. While working on changing a few things in Kibera, he is also an active duty Marine. He is a bit in overdrive a lot of the time, but I have met young people like that.

I like that he lived with the people of Kibera and didn’t just come into the area for a few hours a day. I like that he learned Swahili and also the dialect of Kibera. I like that he is pretty honest with his assessment of his work. It takes him a while to understand the cultural aspects that are in play and how they prevent progress. He admits that he trusts the wrong people at times. I was not so interested in the Marine parts of the story but I think he is able to provide a bit of commentary on how the US is missing the essential ingredients in changing conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places in the world.
Barcott is also a student and I enjoyed the parts of the book involving the University of North Carolina since I worked at UNC for 20 years.

Throughout the book I kept remembering the betrayal of Greg Mortenson who wrote Three Cups of Tea. I was so impressed with Mortenson and gave money to his organization. I don’t want this type of betrayal from Rye Barcott, and there is no reason to expect it, but it colored my acceptance of his book.

[Ainsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This might not be a five-star book for everyone, but it absolutely is for me. As a memoir lover, I appreciated how Rye Barcott wrote "well, straight and true"--weaving a vibrant tapestry involving his childhood, college, military, Kibera and romantic lives and relationships. As an American who partners with central African folks in participatory development, I was so inspired by the authentic and complicated relationships and balance of power explored and explained between Rye, Salim, Tabitha, Nate, and the Kibera community. But where "It Happened on the Way to War" really got me was in its uncanny depiction of Kibera, Nairobi, and Kenya. So right in so many ways! I spent a lot of time in Kibera last year while studying Swahili, and I wish I knew this book existed--or, honestly, that CFK existed--beforehand. From little things, like the use of Sheng vs. Swahili to colloquialisms like "isn't it" and "I am telling you," to big things, like how tribalism plays out and how complicated it is to form genuine, trusting, cross-cultural, cross-economic friendships and working relationships...Rye writes from the perspective of humility, candor, and love of the Kibera community. I felt like I was talking with a keen, funny, self-reflective friend. Asante kwa kazi yako na mfano wako, Omosh. LOVED this book.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, well written memoir about a young man who blends his two loves: the U. S. Marines and the non-governmental organization (NGO) he founds and must fight to organize and finance--Carolina for Kibera (CFK), which funds programs for medical aid, education, and sports in Kibera, Nairobi's largest slum.

Toward the end of the book, there were a couple of parts when Rye explained his thoughts on and the goings on in the Marines where I felt we had been there and done that and I was disengaged, but otherwise I thought the book was fascinating. I was amazed at the amount of caring, commitment, drive, ingenuity, and passion that Rye, and the others, put into the organization. I was also astonished at how very honest Rye was in relating several things which do not show him in a particularly good light (but which made him much more human). I think most writers would have been much less forthright.

I have a great deal of respect for the Rye's of this world who have a vision and then work so hard to see it come to fruition.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really inspiring. A man a year younger than me has started a nongovernmental organization that has grown from a $26 donation to an annual $1 million budget helping the people of Kibera, an enormous slum in Kenya; he has served 2 tours of duty in Africa and Iraq; earned a graduate degree from Harvard; married his college girlfriend and had a baby; and now maintains his family and nonprofit while working on renewable energy sources at his "real" job. Hearing all of the things that Rye Barcott has been able to accomplish was truly the only reason I now wake up earlier in the morning to exercise. If he can do all of this, then surely I can wake up an hour earlier to do something good for myself.

It's a great read for anyone who is interested in either military service or in somehow making a difference in communities in need, especially for young people just starting out. It reinforces the notion that individuals really can make a difference.

[d4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is kind of an amazing thing.

I decided to write a paper on Barcott's Carolina For Kibera for my History of Nonprofits class. Naturally, this is the first resource I've viewed in depth. So there's that: the story of co-founding and maintaining a non-profit. I believe there's insight to be gained for NGOs within CFK's story.

Then there's just the fact that it's a compelling story, highlighting the vast inequality that exists. There's sadness and hope, too, but man, is that sadness overwhelming. (Note to self: WHY DID I CHOOSE TO MAJOR IN SOCIOLOGY? DEPRESSION.)

Don't get me wrong--the book has an uplifting message. CFK has made a difference. I'm just bringing my own sense of futility to the reading.

[Kevin M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful recounting of a young Marine officer's dedication to serve the disadvantaged residents of a Nairoba, Kenya, slum as well as serve his country in Iraq and elsewhere. His erudite observations of humanity and inhumanity during his experiences in Kenya, Iraq, and elsewhere provide an insight well beyond his years. His deep introspection about the policies of the United States government with respect to the Iraq War and other U.S. engagements provides a narrative that offers a different perspective from the mainstream and which should be seriously considered by every U.S. citizen. This impressive young man's story distills hope out of very challenging situations and introduces us to individuals who are striving to change the world around them.

[fab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story and lessons. Highly recommend. With candid reflections on poverty, war and violence, Rye Barcott takes the reader through his decade long journey of global impact. He explains how and why he cofounded Carolina for Kiberia, a nonprofit seeking to end ethnic violence and grant healthcare to the people of the Kiberian slums in Kenya. Along the way he gives his insight on his personal paradox of war and peace. That is, how he makes sense of his role as both a wartime marine and the cofounder of a nonprofit against violence.

[Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book inspires me to want to do more good for the world

[Sarah Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

While it took me a long time to finish this book cover to cover, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It not only opened my eyes to parts of the world and conflicts I knew little about, but it also highlighted some of life’s hardest truths. One lesson in particular stuck with me - something I often wrestle with personally.

As someone who is privileged enough to be a white, straight woman born in America, I live a sheltered life. Sheltered from realities so different from mine that I can hardly comprehend them. People - both good and bad - are shaped by the circumstances they are born into. The children in Kibera didn’t choose to grow up in one of the largest slums in the world. The eleven- and fifteen-year-old boys in Iraq didn’t ask to come of age in a country torn apart by war.

It’s sobering to recognize the vastly different battles people face just to move forward in life. In many ways, we may all share the same hopes - safety, belonging, opportunity, dignity - but the paths we walk to get there are profoundly unequal, dictated by the cards we are dealt. That contrast is both eye-opening and humbling.

I wrote down a few quotes that I want to hold onto when I look back on this book:

“Talent is universal; opportunity is not.” — First coined by Professor Peacock and an adage that later came to define CFK’s ethos.

“They were kids caught in the cross fire, born to circumstances they couldn’t control. They didn’t have great mentors, a quality education, or safety. They didn’t have second chances.”

“Kash embodied the best and worst of Kibera, its talent and its temptation, its promise and its spoil.”

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rye Barcott is a remarkable, dedicated and devoted person. He saw a need in Kibera and took direct action to begin to find solutions. The resulting story is fascinating as he weaves through the extreme poverty in Nairobi and learns to be a United States Marine officer. For me personally, the story engages so many known places that I felt on familiar ground. My granddaughter is a grad student at UNC, my son graduated from James Madison, I've read Andrew Carroll's War Letters recently, and I've traveled with mission teams to Kenya four times. On two of those trips we were given short glimpses of the work of a missionary organization, Kenya Hope's work in Kibera working to help widows and orphans. The problems are real and won't be solved in the short term but pushing back the evil is a worthwhile endeavor. Carolina for Kibera is an important part of the solution.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

True story of marine to be Rye Barcott who goes to Kenya and lives in a shack in a slum to see what it would be like and what he could do to make a change. He along with nurse Tabitha Arieno Festo and community organizer Salim Mohamed set about building a nongovernmental organization that would help Kibera with a new generation of leaders would come from within. BUT it would not be easy, but they would not give up.
Read this wonderful story to hear how one man with a vision can light a candle in the darkest of places and get others excited and willing to work right along with him even when things seem so dark.

[Neha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I understand the need to be constantly doing something, constantly wanting to give back, and see the elephant. This book is fluid, and beautifully written without being paternalistic, since a large part of it is actually based in the African continent. I also like the authors earnestness and honesty. Overall, I enjoyed the book, although I don’t think I would engage as critically with it as some other readers because I also see the author’s privilege playing a significant role in all that he was able to achieve.

[Rebecca Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I looked around the room and thought about how lucky I was to have such a group of mentors. It dawned on me that I had received far more than I had given. I hadn't begun to "pay it forward," and I doubted I could ever give back anywhere close to the amount of wisdom and love I had received from these men and women."

[Marilynn Leahy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the novel immensely. Knowing that the author told the story in the 1st person made me want to keep reading his personal experiences. The survival of the people living in such squalor is unbelievable.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the story, although it felt like there was too much happening, I was really engaged in the Kenya story, specifically Tabitha and Salim. Could have done with a lot less of the other stories, but it was very interesting to see the story of building a long lasting nonprofit as an outsider.

[Bronwync · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish ! An incredible man on an amazing life journey... Rye did what few of us could even imagine. Highly recommended.

[Susan Sanders]

Abandoned after about 15%

Kindle

I am not in the right frame of mind.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that I have been meaning to read for a long time

[Tommy Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. For anyone who has worked in developing countries Rye’s book will ring true

I would classify this as non fiction adventure

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended to those in or interested in the military and those interested in NGOs, particularly those in Africa and focusing on alleviating poverty and hate by assisting local residents as they make the change. I fall in the latter category for my interest and was tremendously impressed by what Rye did at both CFK and his viewpoints as a Marine. Really makes me want to go back to school for a degree in international development.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book to offer inspiration to those who seek guidance and meaning in their lives. Perfect for my school library shelves.
This is at essence a biography; the story of a privileged young man who imbibed his father's (crumpled and discarded) ideals, coupled them with a secret bloodlust, and decided to join the US marines.
The story attempts to trace back Rye's interest in social justice and the military, beginning with his childhood and friendships, and to an outsider, it explains much of what is good about the aspirations behind military training and service.
But Rye is an intelligent observer, and he sees the structural problems with intelligence communications and inefficiency, with having to act violently or defensively on uncertain information, with the increasing bloodlust of some of his colleagues, and the justifiable hatred of the civilians whose lives they endanger whilst attempting to save their country. He documents with shame the failings of the military, including Abu Grahib, which preceded his service, and charts his increasing disillusionment with the chances of the military achieving success and the bringing of peace to the countries in which he serves.
But this is much more than a military story. Rye gains enormous satisfaction and value from his charitable works with the inhabitants of a Nairobi slum, Kibera; a place he stumbled across whilst an early postgrad student studying ethnic violence. He formed some foundational friendships with noble, well intentioned inhabitants of the slum, and could not resist giving some small sums of money to them. This small act of charity blossomed into an NGO which is now famously well run and which prides itself on being an organic organisation which has grown based on the priorities of the slum dwellers, instead of the Top-Down style of the existing NGOs in Africa, which seem to exist mostly to benefit their international and local workers via kickbacks and luxurious conditions. Rye is indulged by his superiors in the marines whilst trying to juggle both careers, but eventually realises the lasting difference that can be made by consulting with the people, using their skills and strength to achieve change and alleviate poverty. He leaves the military and seems now to be dedicated to his NGO - Carolina for Kibera, or CFK. Worth looking up if you're interested.
A wonderfully uplifting read, giving hope to those who seek to make a difference, and follow a moral pathway, with lots of interesting insights along the way.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a young Rye Barcott suffers an accident at a very young age, he comes to realize that his life has a very imporatant purpose. That purpose consists of a life of service to others. As Barcott grows up, he sees himself joining the military and helping people in underserved areas. As an undergrad at the University of North Carolina, he joins ROTC and gets himself sponsors to travel to Kenya. In Kenya, Rye is able to see first-hand a level of poverty uncommon in first world nations like the United States. In Kibera, Kenya's largest slum, people live in unspeakable conditions--children playing near raw sewage, large families living in small tin dwellings barely large enough for three, young people dying of AIDS.

Barcott starts an organization called Carolina For Kibera, a charitable youth organization to serve the people of Kibera through sports programs. Barcott is able to raise funds to begin his project and is able to help a few people begin their own dreams. With the help of key people in Kibera, Barcott is able to help create a medical clinic to treat its inhabitants. As the time draws near for his departure back to the states, Rye leaves a handful of trusted Kenyans in control of his fledgling organization.

Barcott then turns his eyes to the military and follows in his father's footsteps in joining the United States Marine Corps. He graduates with honors and part of his future plans is to continue running CFK, marry his sweetheart, and to be eventually deployed to Iraq. The dance to compartmentalize his life begins and becomes a challenge as trouble within the organization calls him away from his military duties.

I enjoyed Barcott's insight on the world issues he is involved in...the problems facing the US military with bringing peace to warn torn places like Iraq while holding a gun is, to him, one of its greatest contradictions. He shares his opinions on Abu Ghraib, America's role in the world, and wanting to help bring peace and being a Marine.

Rye Barcott is young, yet he has already shown himself to have what it takes to be a world leader. He has grown and learned much through his experiences, he has done great things for those less fortunate, and I look forward to seeing what else he accomplishes in the future.

Excellent read.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, I felt an instant connection with the author. He went to UNC Chapel Hill-- I wanted to go there. I went to Rwanda-- he wanted to go there. We were both profoundly impacted by Philip Gourevitch's "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families-- Stories from Rwanda." Of course, the subject of work in Kenya was a big draw for me, since I've been so impacted by the time I've spent there. Even the fact that his mother named him Rye because of the dream Holden Caufield has in "The Catcher in the Rye"--in which he sees his job as keeping the children who are at play in a field of rye from falling off a cliff-- I first heard that image used to describe what youth ministers do. All of this added up to this being a book I couldn't wait to read.

For the most part, the book held my attention. It is a little schizophrenic in the way it bounces back and forth between Barcott's role as a Marine intelligence officer in Bosnia and Iraq with his role as the founder of a Kenyan relief organization. However, since that's the chief inner conflict in the book--whether it is possible or even desirable to compartmentalize those two worlds-- the schizo feel of the book actually strengthens it. I would have been okay with Barcott going down that road even a little further. He talks about being drawn to the culture of war because of the darkness inside him, but at the same time wanting to impact the world in a positive way. From a Christian perspective, he's articulating the same struggle Paul expressed in Romans 7. But Barcott isn't a philosopher or a psychologist or a theologian. He's a Marine who did something pretty amazing. He started a charity with the $26 he had in his pocket on the day he was visiting the largest slum in Kenya, and grew it into a world renowned organization that got the attention of the Gates foundation.

The flaw of the book is the audiobook version of it. Barcott himself narrates it, which should have been a great thing, but he's got an annoying, halting cadence in which. He pauses, At awkward, Places. It's like someone doing a bad impersonation of William Shatner. Otherwise, this is a great read.