Sylvia's Journal

Today we concluded the conversation about the activities (in the plans) of the teams of Niamey and Zinder. They indicated what they had been able to accomplish and the things they had not been able to do or finish, and why. And what was the impact (the successes and failures) had on the improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of the services they provide. And finally they pulled out what they could learn from all of these experiences. As it turned out one of the teams had come to realize that all the things they had not completed where entirely within their ‘sphere of control;’ it was their very behavior that got in the way. That led to an animated discussion with everyone, in the end, agreeing that they were the only people who could turn things around, not needing any extra resources (or if so, very little), not even extra time. It’s that simple.

Of course, words come easy; people know exactly the right words to use (team spirit, listening to each other, be responsible), but I know that action is a little more complicated, especially when confronting people is simple not part of this culture (easy for me to say, as a Dutch person, where confrontation is common and not automatically a threat to friendship or work relationships. I think here the things are more complicated.

We ended the day with an exercise that required printing out two pages – the things that would be so easy for me back home, but here not so. I walked back to the center in 35 degree heat to print the pages, but the person was locked out of his computer – there was no alternative other than walking back and transcribe the necessary information from my computer, by hand; the IT man said he could help out and we walked back to the center, back in the heat, and now we were successful and arrived, papers in hand, just when the session was about to start, with 2 minutes to spare, ooooff (wiping brow). 

I had hoped to go for a cooling swim after all that walking in 33 degree heat but the pool was ‘sous traitement.’ To kill all the little beasties in the pool, the guard explained me. I asked when the treatment was done and learned it takes 72 hours – some beasties! It may explain the slight green tinge of the water and the cloudiness when I swam on Saturday.

onoOf the 72 hours only 24 are done so it looks like I had my one and only swim the day I arrived. I stayed for a while by the pool, sweating and looking longingly at the water, but then remembered it was full of hard to kill beasties; I had a beer to cool me off and then ordered my dinner and went upstairs to change out of my bathing suit. I went down for my habitual dinner of brochettes on the unattractive terrace, by myself, in the unrelenting heat, even at 6PM. This time I was armed with Swiss bug spray, complements of ICRC, to deal with the more visible beasties swarming around me. I had my brochettes with veggies giving myself a break from frites.