Two States and a New Position

(Myself at the river side in fishing village in Northern Bahr el Ghazal.)

As the title of this post suggests, since my last post, I've been to two states and now have a new (temporary) position.

(Interviewing a vegetable producer group in Agoor, Northern Bahr el Ghazal.)

To begin with my visits to the states, it was two weeks long and I had the opportunity to independently lead the M&E spot checks (a combination of verification of reported project details and quality control to ensure the projects are meeting the goals of the program) in Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Warrap states. I went to 3 counties in each state, multiple areas (payams and bomas) in each county, and spoke to numerous (too many to count at the moment) community groups and individuals. There were certainly aspects of the visits that I could have been more productive and/or I could have managed better than I did, but overall I think it was a success.

(Introducing the ox-plough to local farmers and teaching them how to train their bulls to pull the plow.)

In Northern Bahr el Ghazal I learned that no one is going anywhere before their morning tea, be confident and direct about what you want despite logistical difficulties, and you had better like beans and rice because that is often all there is. By the time I reached/finished in Warrap, I realized that two weeks in a row of spot checks is completely exhausting (driving and interviewing people sometimes for 10 hours a day every day of the work week and catching up on office work at night), and never forget to bring a pillow and a decent sized towel.

(One of my colleagues next to a gum acacia tree in Warawar, Northern Bahr el Ghazal)

I actually learned quite a bit about specific content areas, such as agriculture & livelihoods and water & sanitation, as well. I visited my first gum acacia forest, learned the differences between different gum trees, and how to harvest the different varieties of gum. On top of that I also learned about the importance of utilizing seed nurseries, start up costs for a garden, and the challenges of getting produce to market. With regard to water & sanitation, I observed and learned about some of the technical details pertaining to household latrine slaps (concrete slabs which serve as the base for a household latrine), hand augured water wells, borehole (water well/water pump) maintenance & repair, and the borehole spare parts supply chain.

I originally designed my schedule to see a variety of activities in each county in which we work, but I came to see it being more important to focus the interview questions and selection of interviewees on seeing the extent to which these activities are contributing to or meeting larger program goals. The BRIDGE program is divided into components (education, agriculture, democracy & governance, community development, water & sanitation), and while it is important that each activity meet the component goals for that activity, it is equally (and even more) important that community activities are linked to the government and have a fighting chance at being sustainable.

(The long trek across a dried up river to visit a successful BRIDGE supported vegetable garden.)

I am actually still working on the reports for these visits because as soon as I arrived back in Juba, I was immediately pulled into logistics/operations work. In short, our logistics and operations department has been in chaos for a while (sometimes for good reasons- under staffing being a major one), and I was charged with organizing the chaos that remained. I was also given the responsibility of acting director of logistics/operations while the director is out on break. Today was my first full day of orientation and observation of how the logistics department operates, and I have to say, I'm very glad that I took a class on Managing NGOs and Social Purpose Organizations. The content of that course has really helped me to make some initial recommendations as far as improving systems and overall strategy is concerned. I don't know if I can work any true miracles in the short time that I am acting director, but I am confident that I can lay the groundwork for a new and improved path of operations. It is definitely going to take some doing though. Wish me luck!

(Our driver fixing a flat tired on the way to an activity site.)

Other than these two things, my other project (almost a vendetta) has been in our water & sanitation component. One of our partner NGOs has been seriously lagging in M&E (producing documents to show that a training or borehole drilling actually occurred, etc.). When documents turn up from one year ago, we have no idea that it actually happened, and it wasn't reported to our program donor, I begin to feel a heart attack coming on... So, I took it upon myself to make some sense of it all and "fix" the system. I suppose you could call it another adventure in organizing chaos. I don't believe that the chaos here in Sudan and in this program can ever be completely organized, but I know we have the power to improve things beyond their current state. Mostly, this means I have to follow-up on projects with great detail, and ensure deadlines are agreed upon and followed. This project is, of course, still on-going, and I hope that by focusing on logistics, the work I have done this far does not go to waste.

(Example of a well-fenced borehole using local materials.)

This is an exciting time to be working on this program because there are so many activities and preparations for other activities going on, but I have been here for 4 months straight, without a break, often working 7 days a week... it is time for a break! So, what better place to relax than Turkey! David and I have purchased our tickets, and recently booked our hostel in Istanbul. The plan is to stay a few days in Istanbul, then travel along the coast, seeing sites such as Ephesus, visiting an island or two, then down to the south eastern city of Antalya. If we have time, we even hope to go to the so-called mystical area in middle to western half of the country known as Cappadocia. There, you can find an underground city and smurf-looking houses. In each place, we're going to site see, hike, tour museums, shop, and most importantly relax. I've been counting the days... I can't wait!

(Some very nice hygiene and sanitation messaging at a primary school in Northern Bahr el Ghazal.)

That trip will be a nice/much needed break, but I know as soon as I return to Sudan, I'll have to put my nose to the grind stone all the way until mid-August when I return to the U.S. On top of work, I have been plugging away on my research, and July is a crucial time period for that. I'll have to finish up any interviews I need and then complete a draft by the end of July. Sleep isn't so important anyway, is it? I will forget about this for now though... only thoughts of Turkey.

(Lightening storm in Kuajok, Warrap state. Yes.. this is night time.)