My First Week in Pakistan

During my time living in Kenya my only real complaint was that I had virtually no work to do. I have been in Pakistan for just over one week now and its certain that I won’t have the same issue here.

I have literally spent more than half of my time at work. This was due partly to having only five days to spend with the previous financial controller on hand-over matters. Also, not surprisingly, there is a huge volume of work resulting from the disaster relief effort. Fortunately, it has been really interesting and both the expatriate and national staff have been great to work with. I’m still settling into my new duties, but I feel like I’m in the right place.

I can’t say that I’ve seen anything of Pakistan or even Islamabad. My office is about one kilometer from my house and I’ve gotten to know that stretch of road fairly well. Otherwise, besides the initial ride in from the airport and a trip to the bank I’ve pretty much spent my time either working, sleeping or socializing at a local Chinese restaurant. It’s easy to forget that I’m even in Pakistan. Except that is when I hear the prayers from the local mosque and one morning when I bed shook slightly from an after-shock tremor.

The MSF office is a busy place. There are new arrivals almost every day and they are quickly shipped out to Kashmir. There are also others coming the other way as those who were involved with the initial response are on their way home. There are probably more people working for MSF in logistics than in any other area as purchasing, receiving and shipping and are a major endeavor. There is a buzz of activity, no two days are alike and it’s definitely a whole lot better being busy.