So, I am currently in Zimbabwe after a bit of a whirlwind tour of central Africa (Ethiopia, and the Congos, and some thought of going to Gabon), going from office to office not really being able to accomplish anything, so it was felt that it is best that I come to Harare office, to try to sort out some of the problems here.
While I am here in the office for other administrative issues, it is almost impossible to ignore the cholera situation that is ACTUALLY happening all over Zimbabwe…unlike President Mugabe’s statement that “there is no cholera and that the situation is under control”…it is far from over, and in fact with all the rains right now it is only going to get a lot worse. While I work in a relatively sheltered area, away from the real Zimbabwean society, you pass many hospitals on your way to the office with longs queues of people waiting for treatment . It is terrible, and hard not to get involved in the meetings that are happening or going into the communities to try to educate people on not drinking the water…but they have nothing else. Our only real hope is that the rains stop so that cholera will not be pushed into other cholera free zones, but at this point it is very unlikely. While cholera is not contagious, so I am not at risk (as I don’t plan to get my drinking or bath water from the sewers or wells) it spreads very quickly, and it can kill in a matter of hours…many of the people here already have compromised immunities due to HIV/AIDS, malaria, dengue fever etc., so it is very hard to fight off, especially really young children and the aged.
We hear lots from Mugabe here that it is the US and Britain that have done this to Zimbabwe so as to exert their control, and we know this is not true. However seeing this and actually witnessing it, makes you realize how easy it would be for terrorists or anyone else to attack any of the developed nations through our water networks and cause some serious damage to our people.
So, apart from that, all is ok. I am really in need of a break and am hoping to get a few days off at Christmas, but that is still to be decided and figured out. I am back to Brazzaville this weekend and should know for sure by then when and if I can take some time off! But, I will for sure be taking 2-3 weeks off when my parents and aunt and uncle come to meet up with me in Kenya and Tanzania for a 2 week safari in early March!!! Also, fingers crossed, there is some talk of sending me to Kuala Lumpur on a secondment for a couple of months, which would be so lovely…but because I want it to happen, I am sure it won’t!!
As I don’t think I will have time to write again before Christmas, I hope everyone has a really great Christmas and has a few glasses of red wine for me…i am with you in spirit, but I still say it is nice not be caught up in the whole gift buying and holiday madness that is always happening at this time of the year. And while there is a lot of rain here right now, I am not missing the -30 degrees I keep reading about back home!!
Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/Quanza, etc to all and a really excellent 2009!
Baci, Andrea
jeudi 18 décembre 2008
vendredi 5 décembre 2008
My future forest...
My cross country adventures continue. I promised myself when I left Canada that when and if I ever settled somewhere, ideally Canada, I would plant one tree for every flight I take while over here working....not quite 6 months in, and so far I am planting about 55 trees! I will soon have my very own forest!
Anyways, I am in Kuala Lumpur this week...it is funny that we have meetings about things happening in Nigeria outside of Nigeria...but this is how the UN operates, for those that ever think "maybe I would like to work there". The thing is, no one really wants to travel to Nigeria, so really besides the jet lag and loss of sleep, I am not complaining of having to come out here! I get good food, a comfortable hotel, and I get to regain some sanity...you realize that once you are out of Nigeria, just how dysfunctional it is! As much as it is nice to get out, every time I have come to KL, I get more work to do! We here in WHO are currently in the process of implementing a brand new management system (computerized), however the non-computerized system doesn’t even function, so not sure how they think they can put in place a computerized one with all these steps and processes when the “current” one is ridiculously malfunctional! So, it is an interesting experience…I will not go into too much detail on this as it is a bit of a sore point with me, and it making me a little crazy…even more crazy now that I have to give up my Christmas holidays to support other country offices in Africa to get ready for it! Yes, I will no longer be hiking Mt Kenya, or sitting on a beach, or eating home cooked Italian food, or drinking drinks out of coconuts with little umbrellas…I will be spending my entire holiday working…however I do get to work in Kinshasa, which is a really fun city in DR Congo (yes the same country where the civil war has sort of started up again, but no worries, the fighting is days away by road), but I also have to be in Brazzaville, one of the most dull cities in all of Africa…I am really hoping they send me to Namibia or Mauritius so that I can get some beach time…but not looking so good at this point. There should be a few people that I will at least get to eat “Christmas dinner” with…consisting of some sort of sundried bush meat, muoi muoi (dried sweet potato) and palm wine! This just means I will have more holidays to take when I come home in May/June for the assortment of weddings and festivities I will be attending!
Don’t feel too sorry for me…I have already had a few decent holidays this year…and things always happen for a reason, so I will survive!
I am spending the night in Singapore and then leaving Saturday for Nigeria…only to pack again and head to Brazzaville on the 11th, until who knows when!
I hope everyone is getting ready for the holiday festivities…here in KL there are actually signs of Christmas, unlike in Nigeria where there is absolutely no acknowledgement of its existence!
I am way past my bedtime here, as I am writing in the middle of the night…I just can’t seem to get on a schedule here…the 7 hours time difference is really messing up my sleeping schedule…but the good thing in KL, is we take a 2 hour siesta in the afternoons for prayer time! So, I just pray in my sleep!
Merry Christmas!
Andrea
Anyways, I am in Kuala Lumpur this week...it is funny that we have meetings about things happening in Nigeria outside of Nigeria...but this is how the UN operates, for those that ever think "maybe I would like to work there". The thing is, no one really wants to travel to Nigeria, so really besides the jet lag and loss of sleep, I am not complaining of having to come out here! I get good food, a comfortable hotel, and I get to regain some sanity...you realize that once you are out of Nigeria, just how dysfunctional it is! As much as it is nice to get out, every time I have come to KL, I get more work to do! We here in WHO are currently in the process of implementing a brand new management system (computerized), however the non-computerized system doesn’t even function, so not sure how they think they can put in place a computerized one with all these steps and processes when the “current” one is ridiculously malfunctional! So, it is an interesting experience…I will not go into too much detail on this as it is a bit of a sore point with me, and it making me a little crazy…even more crazy now that I have to give up my Christmas holidays to support other country offices in Africa to get ready for it! Yes, I will no longer be hiking Mt Kenya, or sitting on a beach, or eating home cooked Italian food, or drinking drinks out of coconuts with little umbrellas…I will be spending my entire holiday working…however I do get to work in Kinshasa, which is a really fun city in DR Congo (yes the same country where the civil war has sort of started up again, but no worries, the fighting is days away by road), but I also have to be in Brazzaville, one of the most dull cities in all of Africa…I am really hoping they send me to Namibia or Mauritius so that I can get some beach time…but not looking so good at this point. There should be a few people that I will at least get to eat “Christmas dinner” with…consisting of some sort of sundried bush meat, muoi muoi (dried sweet potato) and palm wine! This just means I will have more holidays to take when I come home in May/June for the assortment of weddings and festivities I will be attending!
Don’t feel too sorry for me…I have already had a few decent holidays this year…and things always happen for a reason, so I will survive!
I am spending the night in Singapore and then leaving Saturday for Nigeria…only to pack again and head to Brazzaville on the 11th, until who knows when!
I hope everyone is getting ready for the holiday festivities…here in KL there are actually signs of Christmas, unlike in Nigeria where there is absolutely no acknowledgement of its existence!
I am way past my bedtime here, as I am writing in the middle of the night…I just can’t seem to get on a schedule here…the 7 hours time difference is really messing up my sleeping schedule…but the good thing in KL, is we take a 2 hour siesta in the afternoons for prayer time! So, I just pray in my sleep!
Merry Christmas!
Andrea
lundi 1 décembre 2008
UPDATE on the situation in Jos...
Hi,
Just a quick update on what I wrote on saturday...the situation got a lot worse over Saturday and Sunday...there are now at least 600 dead...we have been sent this week to set up refugee camps to provide water, food and shelter and are expecting a cholera outbreak of sorts. At least 20,000 people are homeless as their homes were burnt to the ground!
It is crazy, but we have received word that the situation is somewhat under control and no new deaths reported in the last few hours! So, hopefully it has come to an end!
Andrea
Just a quick update on what I wrote on saturday...the situation got a lot worse over Saturday and Sunday...there are now at least 600 dead...we have been sent this week to set up refugee camps to provide water, food and shelter and are expecting a cholera outbreak of sorts. At least 20,000 people are homeless as their homes were burnt to the ground!
It is crazy, but we have received word that the situation is somewhat under control and no new deaths reported in the last few hours! So, hopefully it has come to an end!
Andrea
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