I’ve just completed my second week of work with EDI and all’s well. My colleagues are great. The Dar office is new, so right now there are just two Brits and one Tanzanian in the office. A Nigerian woman who has been working in Kenya will be joining us on the 25th. I’ve been really happy with the amount and content of the work they’ve sent my way so far. Since I arrived, I’ve been primarily working on two projects. The first is a multi-partner project that is attempting, through various interventions, to capture and disseminate good practices in traditional health. We’re the fund/monitoring manager for this one and my boss is hoping (as am I) that I will be the lead. The second is an expression of interest (kind of a mini-proposal) to carry out an HIV/AIDS training needs assessment in three East African countries.
Right now I’m living and working in the same compound. The office is in a house and just behind is a schoolhouse that has been converted into consultant accommodations. When I arrived, they were in the middle of renovations, but slowly things have come together. I now have a functioning kitchen and bathroom, though I’ve given up on having a hot shower. The tank is tiny and eats a lot of electricity. Plus, for some reason there’s less water pressure when the hot water is on, so I have to squat down to get anything to come out of the spout.
Anit’s cousin Bansi and her husband Jai live here and Dar and they have been taking good care of me. I’ve been over to their place a few times for dinner and they’ve kept me busy over the weekends. So far, I really like Dar es Salaam and am learning my way around, at least my part of town, pretty quickly. I currently don’t have a car, but Anit is planning to leave his here with me when he goes to Mozambique. He is in Arusha (northern Tanzania) right now. His family has moved all their curio goods and jewellery from their shops in Mombasa to four shops in Arusha. His brother Punit and his wife Sisca have been living there for the past year and now his parents are planning to move there as well. Anit’s plans to move to Mozambique are still in place, though his timeframe remains (surprise surprise) uncertain. Arusha, and Tanzania in general, is crazy right now because President Bush is here (or will be here in the next day or so). Bansi works as a travel agent and talks about how it’s been impossible for her to get people hotel bookings because he and his delegation have booked huge blocks in all the best hotels.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Yes, it's true
I’ve been neglecting my blog again. I have however been fairly active on Facebook, so if anyone is on Facebook and not currently my ‘friend’ I will happily accept your ‘friend’ request.
I just returned to Mombasa after spending a month in Minneapolis visiting friends and family. It was a great trip, in large part because my fella Anit accompanied me. It was fantastic (and significant in terms of our relationship) to introduce him to my friends and family and to show him where I grew up! Minnesota came through with plenty of snow and enough ‘warm’ days to convince Anit that it is not a completely uninhabitable place. We even walked around Lake Harriet one afternoon – and broke a sweat!
I’ll be moving to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania the first week in February. I’ve accepted a position as an In-House Consultant (basically a junior consultant) with Economic Development Initiatives, an economic development consulting firm, and will be starting on February 4th. My initial contract is just four months, but from what they’ve told me, I’m optimistic that my position will be extended. I feel like I’ve been in limbo since finishing grad school and so I am really excited to get back to work! If anyone’s interesting in taking a look at the types of assignments I’ll be working on, their website is http://www.edi-africa.com.
Well, I feel like it would be wrong to sign off without acknowledging the scary things that are happening in Kenya right now. For those of you who haven’t been following the situation, the country held presidential elections at the end of December and it’s generally believed that they were rigged in favour of the incumbent, Mwai Kibaki. Ever since election officials announced the results, there has been violence, rioting and looting. Most of the violence has been concentrated in the Central and Western Provinces of Kenya. While Mombasa (in the Coast Province) has remained fairly safe, it’s been hit hard economically as hundreds of people who work at hotels and other business that depend on tourism are losing their jobs. What’s most concerning is it doesn’t appear that either political party is willing to sit at the same table with the other to forge a way forward.
I just returned to Mombasa after spending a month in Minneapolis visiting friends and family. It was a great trip, in large part because my fella Anit accompanied me. It was fantastic (and significant in terms of our relationship) to introduce him to my friends and family and to show him where I grew up! Minnesota came through with plenty of snow and enough ‘warm’ days to convince Anit that it is not a completely uninhabitable place. We even walked around Lake Harriet one afternoon – and broke a sweat!
I’ll be moving to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania the first week in February. I’ve accepted a position as an In-House Consultant (basically a junior consultant) with Economic Development Initiatives, an economic development consulting firm, and will be starting on February 4th. My initial contract is just four months, but from what they’ve told me, I’m optimistic that my position will be extended. I feel like I’ve been in limbo since finishing grad school and so I am really excited to get back to work! If anyone’s interesting in taking a look at the types of assignments I’ll be working on, their website is http://www.edi-africa.com.
Well, I feel like it would be wrong to sign off without acknowledging the scary things that are happening in Kenya right now. For those of you who haven’t been following the situation, the country held presidential elections at the end of December and it’s generally believed that they were rigged in favour of the incumbent, Mwai Kibaki. Ever since election officials announced the results, there has been violence, rioting and looting. Most of the violence has been concentrated in the Central and Western Provinces of Kenya. While Mombasa (in the Coast Province) has remained fairly safe, it’s been hit hard economically as hundreds of people who work at hotels and other business that depend on tourism are losing their jobs. What’s most concerning is it doesn’t appear that either political party is willing to sit at the same table with the other to forge a way forward.
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