It's heating up!

Action is picking up here in Kayna:

• About 10 days ago, our site head and a truck driver were imprisonned for a couple of hours by a maimai capitain. The maimais are the local militias, originally set up to help protect the local population, but who have become a bit like the local gangs back in the old west. The capitain accused the truck driver of trying to run over him, and when the site head showed up to liberate him, the capitain locked him up, too. After a couple of hours, he sobered up and let them go.
• The governor of this region has announced military action in Virunga Park (just east of us) this weekend, probably to flush out the FDRC (Rwanda army) who refuse the plan to be mixed into the new integrated Congolese army. This could mean that they will flee east and west, probably pillaging the local population for food and other provisions on their way. There is no circulation in the park this weekend. We are on security alert, as well as getting ready for displaced populations. We won't be going to our Supplemental Nutrition Center near the park on Monday.
• MSF Holland has just shut down one of their operations in the Virunga Park, and we have picked up the business of undernourished kids from this community. We now have 80 undernourished kids, along with about 120 family members, here at the Therapeutic Nutrition Center.

On the other hand:

• We just implemented a new pay scale for the MSF and government hospital staff (whom we pay as well). It was a lot of work for Wapol, the assistant Admin and me getting it ready, but this is the first pay raise for the 150 employees here in a long time. We pay in cash, and as Log/Admin, I had the pleasure of helping to pay them Friday. They were rather euphorique.
• Monday (tomorrow) is Halloween. They don't know anything about our traditions, but I'm going to be dressed up as a Mohawk Indian all day long. They already know that I'm crazy, so it probably won't affect them much.

Email here is on a satellite link, which is very expensive and slow. It is used primarily for work communications, but we can accept comunications from outside, if we don't abuse the system. If you send a message, please include my name in the title ( "Ed" will do).
DO NOT SEND PHOTOS, OR OTHER BIG ITEMS. They block the system, and cost us a fortune. Keep the message short. The address is:

msff-kayna-sat@paris.msf.org

Take care of yourselves, and I will do the same.

First update from Kayna

Sorry for the time lapse.  I've been busy.  Also, the only internet access I have is a limited email connection, which is as expensive as hell. Fortunately, the good people from Google let me update this blog by email.  Here's the situation:

 

I left my house on the 31st of August and arrived in Kayna the 7th of September, after a short stay in Paris and Beni, DR Congo, where our regional headquarters are.  There was a lot of travel and some briefings between those dates.  I arrived to a warm welcome, then they sent me directly to work!

 

Eastern DR Congo has been an area of conflict for several years.  It is a very rich area with metal ore, diamonds, rich earth and plentiful water.  It is situated on the boundaries of Uganda, Rwanda and the DR Congo.  Between political conflict, ethnic conflict, economic conflict, etc., the habitants are used to being pillaged.  Now, they don't even bother to recontruct or restock afterwards.  This town, Kayna, has 20,000 inhabitants, and not one store, apart from some market stalls.

 

There are about five different armed groups in the area.  Even the regular army isn't paid regularly; imagine the rebel groups.  When not fighting between themselves, they provide for themselves off the local population:  crops, money, material, and sex.  Pillage, injury, rape, murder and displaced population are recurrent.

 

We are on the edge of this violence.  The major movements of the armed groups are in Virunga Park, a natural park east of Kayna and west of Rutshuru, where MSF-France has another installation.

 

Our programs here deal with these problems:

1. Supplemental Nutrition Centers - We have centers in five different outlying villages (1 a day, Monday through Friday) where undernourished kids are given nutrition supplements until they are back into their normal weight class.
2. Therapeutic Nutrition Center - Kids who are severely undernourished are encouraged to come to a special center here in Kayna (with a family member) to bring them back into their weight class, under medical supervision.
3. Victims of Sexual Violence - Women who have been sexually abused are encouraged to come to Kayna or the outlying centers for counseling and medical aid.
4. Hospital - MSF-France took charge of the local hospital 4 months ago, working with the local staff to improve the surgery, medical treatment and hygiene provided by the local health system.

In fact, we are on the edge of a conflict zone.  Between Rutshuru and us, we are in place if (when) all hell breaks loose here (again,) to assist potential  refugies.

 

My job in all this as logisticien/administrator is to provided an environment and supplies so that the doctors and unrses can do their thing:  payroll (in cash), human resources, contracts, purchasing, receiving, stock management, construction, maintenance, vehicle fleet and drivers, communications, security, etc.  I have six local assistants, who do the real work.  In total, we are 6 expats, 126 local employees   of MSF-France and 35 employees of the local health system, whom we pay as well.

 

Life at the house:  For the moment, we are 6 expats who live in the compound.  There is Chris, a surgeon from northern France; Jean-Michel, an anysthesist from southern France; Stephane, a doctor from Benin, Gedeon, a doctor from Kinshasa, DR Congo; Alex, a nurse from northern France and me. We are expecting two more this month:  our site director (There has been none for 2 1/2 months.  We depend on the assistant director who does a great job.) and another nurse.  We live in two houses which are adjacent, one also housing the base operation.  The two together are enclosed together, with guards on duty 24 hours a day.  We aren't allowed out of this enclosure after dark (6:00 pm all year round.  We are on the equator.)  We have a cook and two housekeepers, who also do the laundry.  There is no running water, and electricity is provided by a generator, from 8:00 to 12:00 and from 5:30 to 9:30.  There are water storage vats in the bathrooms and the outside kitchen.  Showers are "by the bucket":  the compound guards heat water in a large vat and we go out in the morning with a bucket, pour in a couple of pitchers of hot water, go to the bathroom, mix in several pitchers of cold water and, voila, the shower is prepared.  Everyone has his/her own bedroom.  We eat together and mostly spend the evening together after dinner.  Entertainment in the evening consists of conversation and listening to music on the laptop. 

 

All in all, I'm very happy to be here.  There is al awful lot of work to do, and it's great.  I'm learning new things every day, once again.  I have the blues from time to time, because I don't feel up to the challenge.  But the people are so great here, and so encouraging, that they pass in 24 hours.  I am living again.  I just hope I live up to expectations.