Yay for another day "off"! Though we don't have to be in the office today, there is definitely a lot to do. But working from the couch on the balcony next to Joel and Kristee is much more appealing than being at my desk! This Saturday was apparently the day that Congolese remember the assassination of President Lumumba, and Friday was for Kabila Sr. We have sure enjoyed the time to relax and enjoy this beautiful place with friends. Volleyball at Bill and Sue's on Saturday afternoon was a great way to move around and be outside, and Liverpool Rummy (our traditional card game) is always a fun Friday night activity.
This past week was quite stressful because of the added responsibilities I incurred while acting as Program Director in Pascal's absence. I definitely felt overwhelmed, considering I am also helping coordinate information gathering for a new project we are developing to respond to the USAID 2009 Child Survival RFA. I clearly don't have much background in health projects and interventions, and I am still getting my legs under me in the whole project development, so I will probably be quite busy and stressed until 17 February when the proposal is due.
In the meantime, the Über Shelter could be a nicely compact solution to overcrowding in refugee/displaced camps developed by a Purdue undergrad student. At first glance, the shelter sounds like a great idea (and really cool!), but considering the normal situation of the average non-displacedCongolese family will cause you to wonder what kind of effect the Über shelter would have on both camps and surrounding communities. People living in towns and villages in North Kivu do not have houses nearly as nice, and usually made out of mud with tin roofs. You think people will want to go back to their homes when the war is over if they are getting such nice houses in camps? Interesting discussions anyway.
Ok, back to planning discussions for a compost heap and key-hole gardens in the backyard...I mean, back to work...
This past week was quite stressful because of the added responsibilities I incurred while acting as Program Director in Pascal's absence. I definitely felt overwhelmed, considering I am also helping coordinate information gathering for a new project we are developing to respond to the USAID 2009 Child Survival RFA. I clearly don't have much background in health projects and interventions, and I am still getting my legs under me in the whole project development, so I will probably be quite busy and stressed until 17 February when the proposal is due.
In the meantime, the Über Shelter could be a nicely compact solution to overcrowding in refugee/displaced camps developed by a Purdue undergrad student. At first glance, the shelter sounds like a great idea (and really cool!), but considering the normal situation of the average non-displacedCongolese family will cause you to wonder what kind of effect the Über shelter would have on both camps and surrounding communities. People living in towns and villages in North Kivu do not have houses nearly as nice, and usually made out of mud with tin roofs. You think people will want to go back to their homes when the war is over if they are getting such nice houses in camps? Interesting discussions anyway.
Ok, back to planning discussions for a compost heap and key-hole gardens in the backyard...I mean, back to work...
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