Here I am again. Another summer and another attempt to write a blog. I have a computer at my home, so I can write often. However since I can’t transfer documents to Embassy computers for security reasons, I can only post when I have time to get to an internet café. However, I hope to be able to blog at least once a week…..we will see!
Already this experience is vastly different from working in Uganda and Fiji. First of all, all logistics were set before I came. Another intern (Molly) and myself stay a HUGE house. I have a real mattress for the first time in two yeas. Beat that air mattress! The kitchen has a refrigerator, microwave, and oven. And…can you believe it….I have hot water! What is more, the State Department has a car service that takes us where we need to be. I have been eating well too. There are several nice restaurants in Lilongwe that my colleagues have been nice enough to take me to. All of this is wonderful, but makes me feel disconnected from the people here.
Monday was my first day of work. It was an absolute whirlwind. We started the morning by talking to human resources and the medical office. We also met with the Political, Economic, and Public Affairs officers who gave us an introduction to their jobs and their staff. Then we met with the Deputy Chief of Mission, who is now the acting ambassador while the Ambassador is away from Malawi. Everyone was extremely nice and void of the kind of pompous you might expect from diplomats.
The most exciting part of the day came when the Public Affairs officer came in and asked if I wouldn’t mind traveling to Malanje the following day to help set things up for a visit from the African Development Fund Chairman. Of course I would!
The African Development Fund (ADF) is a government agency started over 30 years ago to implement community-driven development projects. They have a unique niche because their budget is neither the gargantuan size of USAID or the feeble size of grassroots NGOs. Thus, they can fund projects in the middle that often get overlooked. Also, ADF is one of the first larger organizations to use participatory methods, which means that communities are highly engaged in designing and implementing projects.
The Chairman of the Board will go to Malanje to do a site visit and see possibilities for new projects. I will go there with Mayeso, who is one of the staff members in Public Affairs. We will gather journalists and transport them to the site. Aparently, you have to provide transport for journalists in Malawi if you want coverage, because budgets are so small.
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