Sylvia's Journal

The trip I hoped to make to Kabul with Axel, in just over a week, seems more and more unlikely and the limbo continues. I try not to get too upset about this, although I am disappointed. I have stopped to look too far ahead (since there is nothing to see) and instead am focusing on the work of now. It makes me forget the disappointment as it connects me to exciting projects and wonderful people around the world.

I received the most encouraging news from my team in Cambodia which has managed to get government health facilities to make special efforts to reach out to youth, with a focus on reproductive health. The 26 or so government officials who are the first to participate in the leadership program were rather skeptical at first. Others were also skeptical about them and had their doubts that anything would change. The health facility managers set what seemed fairly un-ambitious goals for their teams – but it seems they have been surprising everyone, including themselves, and surpassed these goals.

The senior leadership work in Ghana that appeared to be stuck for the longest time in the initial planning phase has come unstuck. Now it requires the alignment of schedules and a dates. And that’s where I bump into my uncertain future.

Another piece of work like it, concerning senior professionals as well, is in the planning stages for Central America. I am helping my colleague Diane design a process for getting senior leaders focused, moving and more confident in their ability to function well as a team and fulfill their oversight role for major investments in health programs. She will do the actual facilitation since I am not a fluent Spanish speaker, but we fantasize about doing it together. Given all the scheduling challenges, this is highly unlikely.

Last night we attended the annual meeting of the Manchester Historical Society. The average age of its members is probably about 65. Although on the young side of the median, with enough grey hair, we blend in nicely. There is always wine and an impressive buffet of finger food before we start with business. This helps with the socializing although I always manage to introduce myself to someone with a mouth full.

The business of the Society is conducted in no time adhering to the letter rather than the spirit of parliamentary procedures. This makes the business meeting a breeze. The last piece of business is always a motion to ratify any errors and omissions of the executive board, which we gladly did.

The highlight of the annual meeting is always a speaker with something interesting to tell us about the place we live. This year it was a gentleman who had written a book about Cape Ann. He told us many great stories, accompanied by slides, of the famous people who resided here, their houses, their houseguests and friends, and their writings about and paintings of Manchester, Essex, Rockport or Gloucester.