Big personal announcement: Today is my last day at @PesaCheck. I& #39;ve spent 3 years leading East Africa& #39;s first fact-checking initiative, starting with 3 fellows in 3 countries to more than 20 fact-checkers, editors, researchers, data scientists and designers and in nine countries.

I& #39;ve learned a lot, having started just before Kenya& #39;s 2017 elections, and being involved in election fact-checking in three other countries. The growth curve has been hella steep, but the lessons have been many.

In my time at @Code4Africa, I& #39;ve dabbled in everything from air quality sensors to scraping data and drones, and I& #39;ve had a blast doing all of this and more. There& #39;s a lot of good work happening all over the continent, and I was privileged to experience some of it.

I& #39;ve also gotten to see and learn about just how much false information affects people personally, from rumours on health and Covid-19 to influence operations on social media trying to change how we think and interpret the world around us.

I& #39;ve also shared space and time with brilliant people working to fix some of these problems, and I& #39;ve learned so much from them that I can& #39;t even begin to put it in words.

Anyway, next steps... Since I& #39;m a sucker for punishment, my next big task awaits at @meedan, where I& #39;m starting off as program manager for Africa. More steep curves and a huge team doing fantastic work across the globe.

In all this, my guiding philosophy comes from Charles Bukowski& #39;s The Laughing Heart.

be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.

Found the tweet I posted when I started, from what feels like a lifetime ago. Imposter syndrome, and a lot of & #39;What have I gotten into?& #39;... But all in all, it& #39;s been a wonderful ride. https://twitter.com/mougendi/status/884261355456528385">https://twitter.com/mougendi/...

And it was good too. Thank you to everyone who made this journey interesting. Here& #39;s to what comes next. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤞🏾" title="Crossed fingers (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Crossed fingers (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤞🏾" title="Crossed fingers (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Crossed fingers (durchschnittlich dunkler Hautton)">