Mission Almost Completed

Our three-week "inception mission" to put the implementation of the project details together - what the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) calls a "Project Implementation Plan" or PIP - have flown by very quickly. When I think about what to write, I don't even know where to start on describing Afghanistan. It is an emotional experience to be here and I feel like my mind is a chaotic mixture of disjointed feelings, thoughts, and images.

My first and sustained impression is that it is so raw here, not necessarily broken but decayed. Many men in various uniforms carry guns visibly in the streets - some of which are automatic weapons, most old Russian rifles that look like they should be retired to a museum. There have been a few reasons to be nervous about security (the most significant, the capture and de-fusing of a IED bomb right outside our hotel - the Safi Landmark - a couple of days ago) but I have to say that it is not as frightening as expected. Last night the MEDA team went out for dinner at a Thai restaurant here and we weren’t allowed to leave due to a police raid on a brothel apparently located next door. Not even Tariq could bail us out of that one. Overall, it's amazing what one can get used to fairly quickly. I take all precautions and concentrate on the work I am here to perform, and I feel OK. I'm glad Tariq decided to leave with me instead of meeting me later, though; his presence helps me feel comfortable.

Everything is going well on the business side of our horticultural project (the component I am responsible for). At first I felt quite overwhelmed by all the new information flying at me, including all the stimuli from being in a totally different part of the world. But day by day, I am starting to get a better handle on what my responsibilities are going to be, the personalities of my new colleagues and partners, and the facts of living in Afghanistan. I think it will take quite some time to get familiar with the City and its patterns and feel like a confident professional in my role but it's quite refreshing to be doing something completely different in a totally unique part of the world.

Also, I got the good news a couple of days ago that I am going to South Africa after all for two weeks training in pro-poor market development (basically helping impoverished people build viable businesses and access markets for their goods and services). I'll be back in Ontario February 24th to March 3rd for a MEDA staff retreat and then flying from Toronto to Johannesburg on March 4th. I have always wanted to see South Africa!! I'm very excited about this opportunity. I did a major paper on water privatization in South Africa at the School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) and it was actually a novel based in South Africa called the Power of One that inspired me to start boxing years ago. It's funny how life takes you full circle sometimes in ways that are completely serendipitous.