Our travel agent on the compound must think that our program is schizophrenic. We cannot decide whether we are coming or going. Up until 8pm last evening I was suppose to be leaving on a plane for the north today. Now I have to stick around for a couple more days to create more reports, for more meetings, for more donor questions.
Will there ever be a good time for me to leave? Probably not - but I have a massive event up north to attend next week - so I don't have a choice. I have to go.
The one good thing about sticking around is that the weather has turned absolutely glorious! It's well over 20C daily, it will be a shock once I'm back up north where it has been rainy and cold. Prep for Canada I guess. I'll also get to stick around and play a few more games of ultimate - there's co-ed sports in Baghdad, in addition to yoga, step, spin. kickboxing and aerobics classes. Something that is tough to put together up north with everyone's various security provisions. It's nice to have regular activity - the downside is that it is such a sedentary lifestyle other than this! I work 3 meters from my bed.
Another positive thing about not being up north is that I'm not in an office. I had to send out the notice today that the program would be ending early, and that my component in particular will be shutting down before others. I have only had one response? Is this normal? Is no news good news?
I was expecting dramatic emails, or questions about job security. But nothing? I wonder if my Iraqi program managers are fielding most of it and deflecting questions or criticism, or whether we had left them in the dark for so long that they figured that something like this was happening? It's really sad what is happening. I truly believed that the program I was running was innovative. Creating volunteerism with a purpose across in Iraq, and through this, linking youth from all over the country to combat major conflict causes. We had brilliant responses - but it didn't burn enough money - go figure! So whilst the rest of the program is a quagmire, the one thing that is actually functioning gets dropped for a mess that is costing 100x's the cost.
I'm hoping that I can end of the program in a way that will not deter the participants from continuing their good work. I hope we didn't do too much harm by cutting a number of our promises. To address this I'm trying to fold them into an Iraqi NGO that we have helped to gain official status. They seem receptive to this, so maybe there is hope. Inshallah.
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