Gillian fell in love with Africa after taking a sabbatical trip to Ethiopia in 2014, where she ran an agricultural NGO. After returning home to Toronto the following year, she realised she wanted to go back. “I am really passionate about environmental issues and was drawn to Africa,” she says. “I work for a sustainability advice company and decided to transfer to their Kenya office.”
It wasn’t until 2019 that she met Frances, who had moved from the Philippines to work for the same firm. “I wanted an adventure and I was interested in developing markets,” says Frances. “When I arrived, I found out that Gillian was going to be my boss on a conservation project in east Africa.” They met properly for the first time at a coffee shop, to catch up on the project and get to know each other. “My first impression was that she was very serious and a bit boring,” admits Frances. Gillian thought Frances seemed smart but she didn’t expect her to be around for long. “Most people come for about a year. I figured I’d work with her for a while and then never see her again.”
Their work involved lots of travel, which meant long drives and nights spent in different towns across the continent. “One day, we got stuck somewhere and I remember thinking: ‘I don’t want to have dinner with my boss!’” says Frances. “But we ended up talking about lots of interesting things. I told her a bit about my experiences of being from Chinese heritage – in Africa, people weren’t used to seeing people who looked like me.”
On their drives, Gillian began telling Frances about the environmental impact of their work. “She was really passionate about the topic and would send me about five website links every day,” she says. “But she did get me to question how I made decisions and I started making an effort to eat more vegetarian food.”
They also found that they have a goofy side. “We are both artistic, high-energy and a bit competitive,” says Gillian. “We write parody songs and make animated videos about our lives. We also do tough maths and logic challenges and even did a 100-day drawing challenge together. I’m always a bit salty when Frances bests me at anything, but also impressed.”
When lockdown hit in 2020, they couldn’t meet up, but it wasn’t long before Frances turned to her new friend for help. “I had never lived alone before,” she says. “Before Covid, I’d had home help, so it was a huge learning curve for me.” She would phone Gillian to ask her how to work the washing machine or switch on the oven. “I discovered she’d been living on takeaways and overnight oats before lockdown,” Gillian says. “It quickly became a joke – my dad used to call Frances my daughter. She asked me for recipes and made all kinds of cooking gaffes, like nearly putting a metal fork in the microwave. But what impressed me was her humility and ability to learn quickly. In a few months, she was making multi-course meals and eventually she invited friends over for a dinner party.”
As well as their sense of humour, the pair also share a passion for art and drawing. “She’s so talented,” says Frances. “We also discovered that we’re both Christian, so it’s nice to have a friend with the same values who can give advice based on a shared ethos.” Over the past few years, they have supported each other through relationship breakups and family issues, as well as the day-to-day stresses of work.
Though Frances moved back to the Philippines in 2021, they still communicate via email and WhatsApp every day.
“Frances is a unique person,” says Gillian. “She never says no to anything. I call her the sunshine of my life because she’s just so bright. I had always found it hard to find real friends until I met her.”
Frances feels that Gillian has been a fantastic role model for her. “She’s so smart and talented and has a lot of wisdom,” she says. “Gillian always listens to people and is interested in getting to know them. I don’t think there’s anything she can’t do.”
