I'm currently sitting in Brussels Airport trying to kill the six hour stopover ...blah... but at least I'm on my way to Kenya.
I can't wait for my workshop to finish so I can have a week's holiday. Shopping in the markets, climbing Mount Kenya, checking out Nairobi... ahh I love it! It will be a nice change from Liberia.
I'm a bit weirded out just from being back in civilisation here in the airport - everything is too shiny! It's a strange feeling after being in Liberia, which is a lot more rough around the edges.
We sat in the airport terminal last night and watched the world cup final on the tiny, fuzzy tv set...hehe! Unfortunately we didn't get to see any of the penalties (we had to get on the bloody plane, d'oh!) but I bet it was exciting. I must say that I am rather annoyed that Italy won. They are such drama queens.
Well, my internet time is out. Must go.
Take it easy-oh!
Sunday, July 9, 2006
Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Traffic jams and Kofi Annan
how da body? Greetings from Liberia. I begin my latest entry with a story of a traffic jam extending all the way from Capitol Hill, where the UN headquarters is, down into the city. I think Kofi Annan caused more trouble than he realised when he arrived in Monrovia yesterday. I sat in traffic for almost 2 hours. Not really what you expect from a city of 1.5 million people; in fact it is the first traffic jam that I have ever been stuck in. So, intelligently as all governments are, they blocked off access to the UN building, forcing all the cars into gridlock and a snail's pace along the only other route, a parallel side road (which is really a potholed, dirt track). The main problem is that there is really only one main route from Bushrod Island, where our delegation is, to Sinkor, the part of town in which I live.
The layout of the city is restricted by the big estuary here and is elongated along the coast, a bit like Adelaide really. Monrovia was built on a swamp; I really don't know why (well actually I do, it's to do with the location of the port) but it seems to be a really bad site choice to me, especially as it means that half the city gets flooded in the rainy season and malaria is rife. Anyway, I could think of plenty of better ways to spend my time than sitting in the car for two hours. If only I had a passenger to take over the driving, as I would have joined everyone else and walked home.
I have spent the last 4 weeks in Voinjama, which has been great as it has been a good amount of time to become familiar Lofa county and the work of the WatHab team. I spent a lot of time in the field meeting with communities and learning about their needs and the operation and construction of our hand pumps, latrines and health clinics. I also interviewed and recruited two hygiene promoters and introduced them to our program in Lofa. We planned an assessment of the communities in which we work, both technical and social, in order to help plan our activities over the next couple of years.
The Voinjama delegation office and residence are the same building, and while it's a bit depressing to live where you work, it also means you get to know everyone there a lot better (and you can sleep in!). The expats there are good fun and like to get out and do plenty plenty things (I love Liberian English, just quietly), and because Voinjama is a small place, all the expats from different NGOs know each other well.
We took some good walks on weekends: to the top of Tennebuh hill, near the airstrip; to the Pakbatt hill to watch the sunset; and to a nearby village called Betejama, in order to climb the biggest hill in the area of the same name. Unfortunately it's almost impossible to climb and is also a sacred place, so we decided against it and walked through the forest to the next village, Lawalazu, instead. We also spent many nights drinking club beer on the terrace of 'Sweet Africa', one of the local watering holes, which is also a good place to watch the traffic (most of it clapped out old taxis or NGO vehicles) go by.
The World Cup has also been fun here. In Voinjama many ICRC people and some of the other NGOs are French speaking, so there has been strong support for France. We watched a couple of games down at the local video club, especially the Australia v Brazil game, and the atmosphere is great. I would say that 99% of Liberians follow Brazil (they always barrack for the best team, no matter what sport!), so apart from myself and Corey (my American companion) and one other Liberian in the club, everyone was barracking for Brazil! So it was a bit one sided, and Corey and I were the only tubabu (white people) there, but it was still fun. On Saturday night here in Monrovia I watched the France v Brazil game at an old cinema near our residence, which no longer operates (it's just a bullet hole-pocked shell) but still has the fold-down seats inside. Someone managed to find a projector and screen and set up a temporary video club there. I think they would be making a bit of money!
We also had a farewell party for our administrator Quentin and protection delegate Nicole while I was in Voinjama. It was an African-themed party, and everyone made a great effort to get dressed up.
So I have been back in Monrovia now since Wednesday. When I got back I moved house¡K well I moved from downstairs to upstairs, which is a much nicer apartment, especially as you can see past the bleak, grey concrete wall with its delightful barbed wire adornment. And we also have a cat, called Figaro. He's a bit crazy but fun to have around. At the moment Nicole is living with me, but the other two rooms are free. She finishes her mission on Sunday, so I will be the only person left in the apartment!
However on Sunday I shall also be flying out of the country, to go to Nairobi. So maybe I will have some new housemates when I return. The reason I am going to Kenya is because I have been booked on an ICRC Integration Course (all employees do this course at some stage in their employment with ICRC). It's also known as the "brainwashing course". So it should be interesting: 9 days with ICRC staff, both local and expats, from the West Africa region. It will be held in the town of Nyeri, which is just north of Nairobi.
Then, I have my first compensation -1 week's holiday. Yay! (we get one every 3 months, although I have been here for 4 already).
So, the plan is: climb Mount Kenya. I have organised a guide for the five day trek, and now have to scrounge to borrow hiking gear from people. I also need to take some winter woollies, because it's really cold there at the moment, let alone at 4880m above the ground!! Bring on the challenge!
The layout of the city is restricted by the big estuary here and is elongated along the coast, a bit like Adelaide really. Monrovia was built on a swamp; I really don't know why (well actually I do, it's to do with the location of the port) but it seems to be a really bad site choice to me, especially as it means that half the city gets flooded in the rainy season and malaria is rife. Anyway, I could think of plenty of better ways to spend my time than sitting in the car for two hours. If only I had a passenger to take over the driving, as I would have joined everyone else and walked home.
I have spent the last 4 weeks in Voinjama, which has been great as it has been a good amount of time to become familiar Lofa county and the work of the WatHab team. I spent a lot of time in the field meeting with communities and learning about their needs and the operation and construction of our hand pumps, latrines and health clinics. I also interviewed and recruited two hygiene promoters and introduced them to our program in Lofa. We planned an assessment of the communities in which we work, both technical and social, in order to help plan our activities over the next couple of years.
The Voinjama delegation office and residence are the same building, and while it's a bit depressing to live where you work, it also means you get to know everyone there a lot better (and you can sleep in!). The expats there are good fun and like to get out and do plenty plenty things (I love Liberian English, just quietly), and because Voinjama is a small place, all the expats from different NGOs know each other well.
We took some good walks on weekends: to the top of Tennebuh hill, near the airstrip; to the Pakbatt hill to watch the sunset; and to a nearby village called Betejama, in order to climb the biggest hill in the area of the same name. Unfortunately it's almost impossible to climb and is also a sacred place, so we decided against it and walked through the forest to the next village, Lawalazu, instead. We also spent many nights drinking club beer on the terrace of 'Sweet Africa', one of the local watering holes, which is also a good place to watch the traffic (most of it clapped out old taxis or NGO vehicles) go by.
The World Cup has also been fun here. In Voinjama many ICRC people and some of the other NGOs are French speaking, so there has been strong support for France. We watched a couple of games down at the local video club, especially the Australia v Brazil game, and the atmosphere is great. I would say that 99% of Liberians follow Brazil (they always barrack for the best team, no matter what sport!), so apart from myself and Corey (my American companion) and one other Liberian in the club, everyone was barracking for Brazil! So it was a bit one sided, and Corey and I were the only tubabu (white people) there, but it was still fun. On Saturday night here in Monrovia I watched the France v Brazil game at an old cinema near our residence, which no longer operates (it's just a bullet hole-pocked shell) but still has the fold-down seats inside. Someone managed to find a projector and screen and set up a temporary video club there. I think they would be making a bit of money!
We also had a farewell party for our administrator Quentin and protection delegate Nicole while I was in Voinjama. It was an African-themed party, and everyone made a great effort to get dressed up.
So I have been back in Monrovia now since Wednesday. When I got back I moved house¡K well I moved from downstairs to upstairs, which is a much nicer apartment, especially as you can see past the bleak, grey concrete wall with its delightful barbed wire adornment. And we also have a cat, called Figaro. He's a bit crazy but fun to have around. At the moment Nicole is living with me, but the other two rooms are free. She finishes her mission on Sunday, so I will be the only person left in the apartment!
However on Sunday I shall also be flying out of the country, to go to Nairobi. So maybe I will have some new housemates when I return. The reason I am going to Kenya is because I have been booked on an ICRC Integration Course (all employees do this course at some stage in their employment with ICRC). It's also known as the "brainwashing course". So it should be interesting: 9 days with ICRC staff, both local and expats, from the West Africa region. It will be held in the town of Nyeri, which is just north of Nairobi.
Then, I have my first compensation -1 week's holiday. Yay! (we get one every 3 months, although I have been here for 4 already).
So, the plan is: climb Mount Kenya. I have organised a guide for the five day trek, and now have to scrounge to borrow hiking gear from people. I also need to take some winter woollies, because it's really cold there at the moment, let alone at 4880m above the ground!! Bring on the challenge!
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