I'm going to Pakistan with Medecins Sans Frontieres

Just when I was starting to think that I was going to have to return early to the real world something really exciting has taken place. I'm going to Pakistan for one year to work as the financial controller for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF - also known as Doctors Without Borders). The placement was first brought to my attention about two weeks prior to my leaving Kenya and was confirmed just a few days ago. I had been back in Canada for just two days and then learned that I would soon be leaving.

I will be based in Islamabad and will be part of the MSF Pakistan Coordination Management Team which also includes the Head of Mission, the Medical Coordinator and the Logistics Coordinator. I will spend some time in the field as MSF Pakistan has three ongoing projects which are located in Quetta, Shasho and Kashmir ( I don't know where they are, either). These projects provide care to either those living in remote regions or to Afghani refugees. MSF staffing in Pakistan consists of approximately 10 expatriates and 115 nationals.

As financial controller my responsibilities will include:
- the financial reporting, forecasting and budgeting functions and cash-flow management;
- financial and salary administration and office management;
- human resources administration for expatriate and national staff;
- representing MSF in dealings with other NGO's, agencies, and authorities.

I will fly to Europe on October 13th for two weeks of training in Germany and Holland. I will then leave for Pakistan and should be there by the beginning of November. The English cricket team will be on tour in Pakistan so I have that to look forward to. I will be in Canada for just over three weeks which basically leaves me with just enough time to see some friends, do my laundry, and select my hockey pool team.

Stone Town, Zanzibar 

Women tending their seaweed crop when the tide is out at Zanzibar 

Lions looking for their next meal at the Serengeti. 

Dhow sailing in Lamu 

Out of Africa

The clock is now counting down on my departure from Africa. The flights have been confirmed and what fun it shall be. My itinery is as follows (all in local time):

- Monday, Sept 19th - 10:40 p.m. departure from Nairobi - chance for one last dinner with some VSO friends;
- Tues, Sept 20th - 5:20 a.m. arrival in London after an 8 1/2 hour flight;
- Tues, Sept 20th - 13:50 p.m. departure from London - giving me 8 1/2 hours to enjoy Heathrow's Terminal 4;
- Tues, Sept 20th - 15:15 p.m. arrival in Vancouver after an 9 1/2 hour flight;
- Tues, Sept 20th - catch the Westcoast Express train to Mission - 1 1/2 hours;
- Wednesday, Sept 21st - rest and recover.

It is strange knowing that I have just over a week left in Africa. However, having been on the road since leaving Kisumu for over a month now, I'm tired of being in travel mode. In fact, I'm thinking a lot about things I need to do up0n my return to Canada plus possible scenarios for what I'll be doing with myself after that.

Until I leave Kenya my schedule will be pretty relaxed:

- Saturday, Sept 10th - hang-out in Mombasa. Have Chinese food for lunch. See how fast the electric fan in my room can go.
- Sunday-Wednesday, Sept 11-14 - hang-out at some alledged beach paradise called Tiwi Beach, south of Mombasa, and try not to get roasted in the sun.
- Thursday, Sept 15 - return to Mombasa and catch the night train to Nairobi. For about $50 Cdn I get to travel first class (only 1 room-mate in my sleeping compartment), provided with dinner and breakfast, and the likelihood of very little sleep.
- Friday-Monday, Sept 16-19 - hang-out in Nairobi. After 7 months of being bugged to buy souvenirs I will finally do so, although I don't expect to make anyone rich.

If something exciting happens during this time period I may be inspired to write and post it on this blog site. However, I expect that things won't get interesting until possibilities develop on the next chapter of my adventure. There is nothing to report right now, but I'm still betting that something will happen. Therefore, while there may not be a blog update for a while, I'm hopefully no where near reaching the conclusion of this mid-life crisis.

Lamu Island

The Island of Lamu

After leaving Zanzibar I made my way back to Nairobi. Knowing that my Ugandan placement options were not going to happen I contacted VSO Kenya about arranging my flight back to Canada. The clock was finally going to start ticking on the end of my Kenyan adventure.

With a few weeks left to travel I realized that there wasn't anything that I desparately wanted to do. I had thought about going to Rwanda or heading south to see Victoria Falls. However, nothing had me totally fired up. Therefore, rather than spend time and money on visiting these places I decided to stay closer to Nairobi and head to the Kenyan coast. So on September 1st I flew to the island of Lamu.

What I found in Lamu was what I was hoping to see in Zanzibar. Once a secondary trading centre, Lamu also has a strong Arabic influence. Its a fairly small island with only 2 or 3 motor vehicles (counting tractors). Donkeys and dhows (small sailboats) provide the major means of transportation. There was a strong Muslim presence, as could be seen in how the people dressed, the number of mosques, and how hard it was to find a cold beer (but not impossible).

I spent 5 enjoyable days in Lamu with my main ambition being to determine which restaurant made the best fruit juice (it was the Sea Front). There was a real charm to Lamu and it was the first place I had been to on this trip where it was safe to walk anywhere at night. There was a viewing deck on top of my hotel where Iwould sit and read and enjoy the view. At times Muslim prayers were heard loud and clear over speaker systems from different mosques in different directions. It was a kind of Islamic battle of the bands.

Interestingly, there is a strong Rastafarian influence amongst the young dhow captains and crew. The memory of Bob Marley lives on here and many of the young guys had their hair in dreadlocks. I did a dhow day-trip where we sailed, fished and lunched on a beach. It was pretty clear that my dhow crew were not Rastas because of any religious inclination, but because, apparently, white girls dig it.

Zanzi"bore"

After finishing my Kilimanjaro hike and Tanzanian safari I was keen to get to the coast. I hadn't seen the ocean since leaving Canada in February. It was therefore with great anticipation that I departed by plane for the island of Zanzibar.

There is a lot of history to Zanzibar, having been a focal point for trade as far back as the 10th century. It was famous for its spice trade, infamous for its slave trade, and the place I'll always remember being at when I heard about the Dany Heatley trade. The Stone Town was quite interesting and there was a definite Arabic feel about the place. This was the first African town that I had been to which had some real character to it.

The beaches were postcard beautiful. The tide would go out several hundred metres and it was interesting to walk on the beach and watch the women tending their seaweed crops. Otherwise, there wasn't a whole lot to do. The beaches were dominated by Italian tourists on package trips who could really care less where they were as long as they could lay in the sun. Beautiful beaches don't hold my attention for very long so I ended-up doing a lot of reading.

While in Zanzibar I bumped into a VSO volunteer working there named Chris, whom I had meet during my training in England last January. Chris had previously spent 2 years in Tanzania with VSO, but didn't last long this time around as he had resigned from his position. A Ph.D in Marine Biology, Chris said that he had been given tasks which included picking-up garbage from the beach and checking-out snorkling equipment. He was close to arranging a new job directly with the Zanzibar government. He mentioned that quite a few of his VSO colleagues had either resigned or were discontent with their placements. Ironically, one person who was happy was the fellow working with the Tea Grower's Co-operative, a passed-on in taking my placement in Kenya. Oh well.

Zanzibar