It’s been
535 days since I blogged. Surprisingly the longer the gap, the harder it is to
start, so I will begin by telling you about two major life events have taken place since I last wrote.
The first is
the end of the Ebola outbreak, which was declared in November 2015. What a
relief and great celebration that was! The Ebola outbreak greatly affected
Sierra Leone – every sector and every person in the country was affected in one
way or another. For me personally, as I wrote two years ago, Ebola became a
part of daily life and it was a matter of persevering to the end.
“It seems as if
an hour doesn't go by without Ebola being a part of it. Whether it is during a
conversation, work at the hospital, a radio programme, an advertisement, a
bucket of chlorinated bleach outside a restaurant, an ambulance with driver in
a protective suit that drives by, the constant thought of not touching one's
face, no personal contact, a billboard etc. Ebola has become entwined with
daily life. Strangely though, when driving through Freetown things still feel
fairly normal. It's a bizarre situation.”
The battle
was eventually won but sadly many lives were lost and we continue to remember
those who succumbed to the disease as we rebuild what was destroyed and build
it back better.
The second
event is my resignation in June and my final day of work as Country Director
for Welbodi Partnership mid-August 2016. After spending 6 years with this great
organization it was time to step down from this particular role. I loved the
technical/health programming/clinical improvements side of my work but felt
that more and more of my time was being taken up by the operational/organizational/management
aspects such as financing, human resources, procurement and line managing. It
was too hard (and impossible) to do all of that well (and in reality, two
different roles anyway), and so I decided that in order to continue with what I
am most passionate about I would need to resign. This is one of the biggest
decisions I have ever made but possibly the best. So, I am currently unemployed
– which is both great and strange at the same time – and in transition mode - I
just don’t know what I am transitioning into yet! Ideally, I find another job in
Sierra Leone where I can use my skills to improve maternal and child health. It
may or may not include some clinical work, but I would hope it would include
things like quality improvement, health programming, capacity building of
healthcare workers, guideline development, supporting Ministry of Health plans,
etc. (i.e. a technical focus on child health as opposed to an
operational/organizational focus, if that makes sense). I am waiting for the
right opportunity to present itself and in the meantime I am enjoying this
transition period after a pretty intense work pattern.
This is a
quick catch up for now and I will be back very soon with stories, thoughts,
photos and more.
1 comment:
Hi Sandra,
We met briefly in 2011 when the Mercy Ship was docked in Freetown. At the time, I was a volunteer on the ship, with a side interest in water purification systems. I had heard that there were water quality problems at the Children's Hospital, and one day I stopped by and chatted with you and examined the hospital's storage system to see if there was some way I could help. It turned-out that the hospital's system was a bit complex for what I could provide at the time.
I have not forgotten the warm and friendly people of Sierra Leone, and the water needs at the Ola During Hospital in Freetown. On my own, I am working on a project that, among other things, could possibly fill the needs at the hospital. I won't know for sure for a bit of time, while I sort things out, but in my pursuit of this project, I am wondering if you can tell me if the water purity situation at that hospital has been remedied yet, or not?
Cheers,
Paul Williams
mounttritle@gmail.com
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