Sylvia's Journal

It is now quite cold at night and in the early morning. The bed warmers we bought in Holland are worth every one of the 2900 euro pennies we paid for them. We plug them in an hour before bedtime and then find a warm cocoon waiting for us. I can’t think of anything more luxurious and decadent!

Today I tried to catch up on things and succeeded only partially, not having much chance to clean out my inbox. The entire morning was spent in a meeting with all our program manager – first the usual reports and then a more in depth discussion about what we can/should and cannot complete before the close out phase of our project start in July.

At lunch time I made a quick trip to meet friends at the Afghan Midwives Board meeting, in their brand new offices. I met them again for dinner later at the Safi Landmark hotel which presents a luxurious face of Afghanistan that few people outside the country know of: glass-walled elevators moving noiselessly up and down a giant atrium with a coffee bar at the bottom and fancy boutiques selling luxury goods on the ground and first floors. It could have been Dubai.

These visits with the midwives lift my spirits like little else here. There is so much energy and commitment that it is hard not to be optimistic. At the same I am acutely aware what these young ladies are up against, how fragile the status of women is, and thus how much they can realistically accomplish.

All through the day I was confronted with some deep divides about philosophies about development and how we go about our business. These discussions are always full of emotion as the frames we use are so much a part of our professional identity. It is also what makes work here so very interesting.