2005 wrap up

Kitchen department, Liberian Government Hospital, Buchanan, Liberia

December 31, 2005

Best wishes for a wonderful 2006 to any readers out there.

I'm writing this at 10:13pm on New Year's Eve and I think I'll be too tired to stay awake until midnight.

What an amazing year I've had. In these 12 seemingly brief months I took a mere 60 flights, visiting eight new countries (Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Ireland, India, Nepal and Liberia, bringing my official country total to 40), riding overnight trains in India, Canada and the US, and setting foot on five continents. I finished one job (working for the Survey Action Center in Afghanistan), started and finished another (with Oxfam in Afghanistan) and begun a third (with Merlin in Liberia).

Amongst my adventures were the following (not quite chronologically):

• Leaving Afghanistan on Business class, drinking Turkish coffee in Istanbul - and then finding myself back in Kabul six weeks later;


• Dancing until dawn in Itajuba, Brazil during Carnaval;


• Being spied on by monkeys with Jenny on the Pao De Acucar in Rio de Janeiro;


• Riding an elephant through the jungles of western Thailand after rafting through gorges, jumping off waterfalls, and enjoing welcome serenity in an eco lodge;


• Learning to Scuba diving at Koh Chang, Thailand;


• Taking my most comfortable (yet affordable) overnight train trips ever (Bangkok to Chang Mai) in Thailand;


• Climbing and pondering the incredible monastery at Angkor Wat, Cambodia;


• Swearing yet again that I'd attended my last Formula 1 Grand Prix (this time in Malaysia);


• Gazing up (from valley floors) and down (from tiny aircraft) at the most beautiful country (Afghanistan) I've ever seen;


• Being given an improbably large number of interpretations of whether or not the Holy Koran permits alcohol consumption;


• Being told (before takeoff from Yawkalang airfield above 8'000 feet in the Central Highlands of Afghanistan) that we would make an immediate right-turn because otherwise "if one of the engines fails we'll hit that hill...";


• Being the only person to follow Blue Rodeo around all twelve of their UK tour gigs - and in so doing drinking Guinness with some of them until long after their Bambridge show, being played 'Lost Together' for my personal loyalty in Leeds, and bar hopping with some of them and their most wonderful fans in Dublin;


• Continuing the process of falling in love with Scotland;


• Realizing that the Kings Cross bomb exploded 48 hours to the minute after I'd been there;


• Visiting the incredible Taj Mahal but also the arguably more wonderful nearby Agra Fort;


• Being required by kidnapping threats to ride cars from within and between walled compounds in Kabul;


• Emerging from an ultra-modern cinema in Delhi into a darkened shopping precinct and bumping into a very dark and sacred cow;


• Feeling a gentle swaying of the ground in Kabul - then flying to Delhi before learning that it had been a devastating earthquake in Kashmir;


• Reaching out to hold hands with friends - riding in a separate speeding auto rickshaw weaving in and out of Delhi traffic;


• Discovering truly wonderful restaurants in Delhi that would star even if I hadn't just emerged from Afghanistan;


• Relaxing on a houseboat in Srinagar - then while at 10,050' in Indian-administered Kashmir being hailed by my tour guide from western Thailand;


• Wallowing in the friendliness and extreme comfort of Kathmandu;


• Feasting at American Thanksgiving (with great friends old and new);


• Confirming once and for all that I'm too old to sleep on transcontinental railways without a bed;


• Not sleeping in one bed for more than five consecutive nights between October 8 and December 25 (as I've already moaned);


• Requiring the services of an English <> English translator in Liberia;


• Beginning my potentially most rewarding and meaningful job ever.
  

Above all meeting lots of people in lots of countries, almost all of whom are immeasurably more gentle than their governments, and meeting and revisiting many wonderful and very very special friends (in one or two cases, quite unexpectedly). Almost my only regret in 2005 was that I couldn't go to see all the rest of my friends. You're all welcome to come and visit me in Liberia!!

Happy New Year.

Project Coordination - Buchanan

Buchanan street scene

December 16, 2005

As predicted I had a very quiet and peaceful Christmas - for which I'm grateful because responsibilities have now landed quite firmly on my shoulders.
One or two loyal and curious readers have asked what my new job involves. Therefore I present this summary.

I am the Project Coordinator for Merlin in Buchanan, Liberia. I finally took over from my predecessor yesterday, as such I am now referred to by my staff variously as "Bravo-1", "Tom Plus Fifteen Letters" and "Hey you". I haven't received a job description yet but if I adapt the one I had for the town of Harper, where I expected to be posted, I get this:

• Supervision of Buchanan field base;


• Project management based on project proposal, budgets and donor regulations;


• Overall co-ordination of logistics, finance, administration and HR;


• Reporting – internal to Merlin, and external to donors ;


• Representation & liaison with local authorities, NGOs & International Donors;
  Programme development ;


• Security monitoring and management;


• Financial control.
  

I have two main projects and one minor one. One big one is support of the Liberia Government Hospital here in Buchanan. While Merlin only 'advises' we do so with quite a bit of authority because we entirely subsidize all the staff salaries and we pay for all the drugs and other costs. The other main project I manage is Merlin's support for 10 Primary Health Centres around Grand Bassa County, Liberia (for which Buchanan is the capital). Technically I also manage a small project that is constructing a surrounding wall, outpatient clinic and X-Ray laboratory at the hospital grounds.

See my last post for some spiteful comparisons between this job and my last one.

I'm happy to be here - as much for any other reason as because I can finally unpack all my bags. Since I left Kabul on October 8 I've slept in the following places, (plus some overnight flights) none of which were my own (although most were extremely lovely):

Delhi, India
Srinagar, India
Two overnight Indian trains
Bhairawa, Nepal
Kathmandu, Nepal
Delhi, India
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ottawa, Canada
Two nights on a train to Kamloops, Canada
Penticton, Canada
Overnight train to Vancouver, Canada
Seattle, USA
Richland, USA
Overnight train to St. Paul, USA
Mankato, USA
Overnight train to Albany, USA
Albany USA
Montreal, Canada
Ottawa, Canada
London, UK
Monrovia, Liberia (two different beds)
Buchanan, Liberia
Monrovia, Liberia
Buchanan, Liberia
Monrovia, Liberia ...and now I'm settled in Buchanan (except I may be moving rooms next week!!!

Christmas in Monrovia

Merlin residence, Liberia, Monrovia

December 24, 2005

Merry Christmas from Monrovia, capital of Liberia!

This is going to be a rather lonely Christmas for me - symbolized quite well by the tree where I'm staying. On the other hand I'm looking forward to two days of peace and quiet. I've had a very good two weeks working on mapping and data collection with three colleagues from England and I'll miss them but I'm also glad to be able to turn my attention to my upcoming responsibilities. And what a contrast they are to those of my previous job where very little I suggested was accepted and implemented. There I could not procure paperclips - now (and this is after being transferred from Harper, where I've never even been, to Buchanan) I'm responsible for two projects employing about 38 actual staff and over 200 more subsidized by Merlin, and having a combined annual budget of over 1.4 million US dollars.

I'm looking forward very much to actually moving to Buchanan, which I'll do on Tuesday. I've already been there twice (and when I went the first time I didn't know that that was where I would be stationed) but Tuesday will be my first chance since OCTOBER 8 to completely unpack my bags and settle somewhere where I'll remain longer than five days.

Blog updates

Quick news flash: I've won a contest on Ryan Schuh's web site!!

Less excitingly, I've just worked out how to send group mailings via Gmail. Please send me a note (tom@haythornthwaite.net) if you'd like to subscribe to alerts when I post new news.