Two days after Kenyans defied expectations and peacefully, purposefully approved a new Constitution, I was processing two powerful emotions.

The first one mirrored my overall mindset during the 2008 US Presidential Election, when the chance to participate in an historic event was literally intoxicating. Being able to fly home from my ICFJ Kenya program base to vote only heightened the excitement. I know many Kenyans are feeling that same tidal wave of impact at defying the naysayers through the power of the ballot.

But the other sensation I’m feeling is deep relief. Obviously, the main reason is because Kenya’s post-2007 election violence was not repeated. But I also realize that the close of the election process opens a window of opportunity for me. Not only had an abortion clause in the proposed Constitution fueled impassioned debate about reproductive health in Kenya, the approval vote meant media houses might be willing to start thinking about topics other than politics, and drop the “all hands on deck” posture of waiting for passions to flare.

It’s already happening. Just this afternoon, I met with a staffer from the PATH organization’s Nairobi office (www.path.org), who told me the Kenyan government is launching a new policy for treating diarrheal disease in children. It’s been a work in progress, with lots of funding and procedural hitches along the way, but the Ministry of Health finally pulled the necessary streams together. There’ll be a big media event in the Western Kenya city of Kisumu next Thursday, but I think the implications of the new policy will resonate more with readers by illustrating exactly how it will impact real people’s lives.

After that meeting, I headed straight to the news desk and told editor Eric Shimoli we should prepare a feature to run on the day of the launch. Without hesitating, he reached for the phone, spoke with a Kisumu bureau reporter named Stella Cherono, and handed the phone to me. Basically, I’m now in charge of developing a series of stories in Western Kenya about some of the PATH organizations health projects in Western Kenya, and Daily Nation editors have pledged to run whatever reporters produce under my guidance.

Now, Shimoli is a great guy, and has treated me with nothing but respect during my time at Nation Centre. But if I’d come near him on Monday to talk about anything other than the election, he’d have swatted me away like a fly! Now that everybody can breathe a bit easier--and after two years of my consistent presence, subtle nagging, and a growing body of evidence about the impact of health-related stories--I’m feeling ready to shift the Fellowship program ideals into overdrive!

And it’s not just at the Daily Nation. While it’s the Nairobi media market leader, the upstart number 3 daily newspaper, The Star, has a bigger news hole for features, and a much more flexible, energetic approach to developing them. And it also has a young staffer named John Muchangi, who is one of the best writers I’ve met during my time in Kenya. He has a strong natural instinct for the flow of language, as well as the curiosity and hungry intellect needed to recognize feature story ideas.

Fortunately for me and my goals, John is also very interested in Reproductive health issues. So when he told me a few weeks ago that he wanted to do a story about maternal mortality in Kenya, I knew I could expect more than just a run of the mill primer. Sure enough, John found a young husband whose wife had died in childbirth, and even managed to attend the funeral. I helped him tease out the major angles: Women in Kenya die needlessly during childbirth, for reasons like lack of attending care, no transportation to health facilities, poorly equipped facilities, etc. Sadly, the focus of John’s feature died at a relatively well-equipped District hospital, and officials still can’t explain why.

The Star might be Number 3, but their features section outstrips the competition in terms of space and display. The downside is that they still haven’t established a website. But I still believe a well-written feature in the Star has a better shot at influencing policy than a lesser offering in the Nation.

So nurturing John’s interest in reproductive health, family planning, and yes, even the contentious issues around abortion, will pay off in the long run. And to top it all off, the heightened national conversation means that now it’s a bit easier for reporters to “sell” reproductive health stories to editors.

So I’m greatly encouraged and ready to roll up my sleeves. Next week, it’s off to Kisumu in search of great health stories. After that, the sky’s the limit!

Editors Note: With the end of the Kenyan elections, media houses may be willing to think about topics besides politics in Kenya.