Work work was not exactly thrilling this week. I had to research USAID political party strengthening programs covering the last ten years and put them into charts by country, year, program, activity, etc. I also had to re-do the CV’s of people who will potentially be working on a new project. Then, I had to do some literature research for a colleague before she departed for Jordan. Then…you get the idea.
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For the resettlement field office, I met with the new Development Officer, who, oddly enough, has never worked with grants or government contracts. I compiled literature on these subjects for her, as well as lots of handy web-based resources on grant-writing, squeezing money out of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and getting free supplies from local sources. We’re going to meet again the week after next. In the mean time, I’m going to follow up on a conversation I had the other day with someone from the university’s School of Public Health about setting up a fellowship program at the field office for their MPH students and recent graduates.
Even if the foundation says “no” to our proposal, there is going to be a refugee health mediation program. One way or another.
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It was nice to be back in the old office. I hadn’t realized how much I missed the smells, the confusion, the perpetually askew pictures on the walls, and the comically diverse team of sarcastic co-workers representing the US, UK, Spain, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Burma, El Salvadaor, and the DRC.
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It’s time for a Dari lesson.
Transitionland 