The Next Phase

Approximately 3.5 million people have been affected by the earthquake that struck northern areas of Pakistan and India on 8 October 2005, with some 73,000 people losing their lives. Available statistics indicate that over 297,000 displaced persons are currently living in camps in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Kashmir and other areas of Pakistan.

While still providing services to four communities in Kashmir, MSF Holland (MSFH) has wound down its emergency relief operations. There is still a lot a work ahead in the areas of resettlement and rebuilding and this work will involve the government, United Nations agencies, and a variety of humanitarian NGOs. The objective is the return or resettlement of these displaced people, ensuring a voluntary, safe and dignified return.

Now that my Finance and HR department’s work-load has subsided and I have a better handle on things we are also undergoing a transition. My goal is to have my staff effectively running the place. I often tell my two direct reports, Shahid and Naveed, that after they are fully trained I should be able to spend my days on my office patio reading magazines while they do all of the work. They laugh when I tell them this and I respond by telling them that I’m totally serious. They laugh again, but this time a little more nervously.

Since returning from Europe a few weeks ago I’ve been able to spend more time on project work or dealing with specific issues and less time on day-to-day activities. With fewer MSFH Expats (currently around 30) working in the country I no longer have other Expats helping with Finance and HR. My department appears to have seamlessly taken over from them. Having Shahid and Naveed doing more of the routine work makes it more interesting for them and easier for me and eventually who-ever replaces me.

My latest endeavor is to train Shahid on the month-end accounting process. We started with February and this week he was able to do 95% of March’s month-end on his own. Most of the accounting was able to done on his computer, but there were a few steps that could be only accomplished on mine. While Shahid worked away at my desk for about twenty minutes there was little else that I could do. I grabbed a magazine and sat out on my patio. The sun felt good.