I was supposed to finish my mission at the end of February, but I extended my stay up until the end of April, because of a personnelle shortage.
Since may last update, the hasn't been a slow moment. I returned from "exile" the 2nd of February, just in time to help organize an emergency response to a flux of around 50000 internally displaced people from the south of us, caused by rebel fighting. We set up 4 water distribution sites in the town of Kanyabayonga, 20 minutes south of Kayna, and three medical cliniques for free health care for these displaced people, including health care and counseling for victimes of sexuel violence. After nearly 2 months, some of the husbands return from time to time to tend the crops and return with harvests to feed their families, but the wives and children pretty much stay in Kanyabayonga; their home region is still rather unstable.
In the meantime in Kayna, where it's fairly stable (everything is relative), we hear gunshots about twice a week, due to looting of the local population ( usually attributed to the military, who are rarely paid and loot to feed themselves).
I feel really lucky to be here for my first mission with MSF:
- Already to start in a big mission is great. We were 8 expats and A60 national staff when I arrived.
- I experienced an evacuation in January. This is important in MSF, because it happens fairly often. I am lucky to know what to do and how to organize this type of operation. And it doesn't happen THAT often to a first-timer.
- And the icing on the cake, I am experiencing how to set up an emergency operation. MSF has teams of experienced people to to these operation, who came in and helped us out a lot, ut I got to participate after only 6 months. Our local staff shot up from 160 to 150 in 3 weeks, and at times we were 16 expats in the house.
I I don't really screw something up between now and the end of April, I think they will let me stay on to keep working with them up until I can't move anymore.
Bye
