The visit of our interdepartmental team from Paris was very useful. The big topics included our salary scheme, the job function scale, and our relationship with the employees of the Ministry of Health with whom we work in some structures. One of the outcomes of these meetings is that we have a lot of work to do - some of it short term, and some of it medium to long term.
After talking with our human resources referent from Paris (who is also a good friend), I have decided to extend my stay here as human resources coordinator for the Congo for another year, up through July or August 2010. The projects will be really interesting for me, and will allow me to learn a great deal about human resource management. It will also allow us to have some continuity in the development of the systems. My decision also puts me on a path of little or no return – I will be out of the running for a purely operational post, such as project coordinator. But I have thought it over and I prefer to continue in HR, where we have a real shortage of expertise in MSF (as do a lot of the other non-governmental organisations).
And I will need a break. So I will be returning to France at the very end of July. After a day of debriefings in Paris, I will go to Indiana to see the family. I am booked to arrive on the 1st of August and to leave on the 10th of August. I will then have 3 weeks in my own place in Lyon before returning to Congo for another year.
After that, who knows?
By the way, here is a photo taken by an Australian photographer, Kate Geraghty. It is taken in Kabizo, where we operate a health center serving the local and displaced population in the area. In the foreground are some of the patients, who were fascinated by the camera Kate had. In the middle ground is our medical coordinator, Manal Shams Eldin, a Sudanese doctor. In the background is me, doing the traditional head-bump greeting with one of our staff who I had not seen in a long time.
After talking with our human resources referent from Paris (who is also a good friend), I have decided to extend my stay here as human resources coordinator for the Congo for another year, up through July or August 2010. The projects will be really interesting for me, and will allow me to learn a great deal about human resource management. It will also allow us to have some continuity in the development of the systems. My decision also puts me on a path of little or no return – I will be out of the running for a purely operational post, such as project coordinator. But I have thought it over and I prefer to continue in HR, where we have a real shortage of expertise in MSF (as do a lot of the other non-governmental organisations).
And I will need a break. So I will be returning to France at the very end of July. After a day of debriefings in Paris, I will go to Indiana to see the family. I am booked to arrive on the 1st of August and to leave on the 10th of August. I will then have 3 weeks in my own place in Lyon before returning to Congo for another year.
After that, who knows?
By the way, here is a photo taken by an Australian photographer, Kate Geraghty. It is taken in Kabizo, where we operate a health center serving the local and displaced population in the area. In the foreground are some of the patients, who were fascinated by the camera Kate had. In the middle ground is our medical coordinator, Manal Shams Eldin, a Sudanese doctor. In the background is me, doing the traditional head-bump greeting with one of our staff who I had not seen in a long time. 
