The weeks keep getting busier at work and I’m definitely learning the meaning of time management. I’m currently working on about 4 projects and I’m getting more responsibilities which I am taking as my work being appreciated.
One of the main tasks I am doing is creating a field manual. PSI Rwanda is decentralizing and localizing and in the next month or so, a lot of staff at HQ will be moving to 4 districts in Rwanda (North, South, East, and West –creative, I know). Along with moving physically, their jobs are going to be different than what they are doing now. Staff will be getting more responsibilities, learning new protocols as well as better helping and being closer to our beneficiaries “in the field.” This manual that I am producing is an effort between all of the departments (logistics, procurement, vehicle management, programs- HIV and MCH, finance, etc). For me, it is a great way to learn about each department, what they do and how everything fits together. It’s also a lot of work and I want to make sure that this manual is useful and not a doorstopper when everyone gets to the field.
One of my other main tasks is working with our partner organizations or as we call them here RPOs (Rwandan Partner Organizations). These are the organizations that do most of the great work that we do on the ground. As PSI Rwanda moves to a more technical support role from an implementation role, we provide these groups with capacity building skills to implement projects on the ground. One of the big projects that the RPOs are helping implement is through a 5 year behavior change USAID funded project. As we come to the end of year 4, I have now been tasked with making sure their work plans and budgets are approved for year 5. Since I arrived, I’ve been attending meetings with the RPOs, learning about their challenges and the awesome work they are doing as well as played the role of auditor on compliance visits. If you told me I would one day be auditing organizations a few years ago I would have probably laughed in your face. Even more so, I enjoy the audits and sharing results with the RPOs. The best part is hearing them talk about making changes to improve mistakes that we find and then seeing them implement them. I think we all feel like we are making a difference when you see a positive direct effect from your efforts.
Project number three is helping create a website for the organization and the local Rwandan NGO (when it begins operating). I don’t necessarily call myself tech savvy but it is kind of fun developing a website from scratch. The content and structure is almost ready, now we just need someone to actually put everything out there on the web.
More recently (last week), I became involved in another project which I am so excited about. This one is a pilot program for 10-12 year old girls. It kind of reminds me of Peace Corps’ life skills or Girl Scouts and is focused on trainings about health and financial literacy. While there are certainly a few kinks in running a huge pilot program (600 girls across 5 districts), I am so excited to be working with this. My office has been invaded by photocopies as we compile binders for the girls’ mentors (older girl volunteers). I’ve been assigned to the monitoring and evaluation team which means shortly I will be receiving everything from attendance lists to testing forms to feedback forms which our team will be evaluating for the project.
This week a PSI trainer based in Kenya is here training PSI Rwanda’s M&E team on qualitative
analysis. We attended day one of the training to get an idea of how to incorporate it into the 12+ program. The first part of the training reminded me a lot of one of our marketing classes during the Core, talking about learning about our target market and using our research to better market to them. We even watched a few commercials via youtube—the
Evian dancing babies commercial which I am convinced I either watched in class in the US or in France and
one about wearing a seatbelt.
One of the tools that really left an impression on me is photo narratives. You work with a sample size of people that you have worked with previously, give them a camera, and have them take pictures of their day or week or whatever period you want information on. Then you meet up with them and they walk you through their pictures. The example we were shown was excellent. Afterwards you feel like you really know the person, what goes through their head and what they really believe about whatever topic you are researching. Next week we’ll meet with the trainer to see what/how we can apply some of the qualitative techniques to this specific project. After everything being so quantitative, it is really neat to see how to incorporate the qualitative aspects.
So that’s what I’ve been doing in Rwanda lately although it may seem like all I talk about are my weekend trips and evening adventures. Speaking of which, last night I went to a dance competition because one of my friends here sponsored one the dance crews. It was supposed to start at 3 pm and the first group started dancing at 7:45 pm. There are 15 groups and they are all supposed to perform one original song and one to a song chosen by the judges. They only made it though one song given the late start. Hopefully today and tomorrow will run more smoothly and on time. I only stayed for the first 4 groups (the fourth group was my friend’s) and it was pretty comical. As you can see from the videos, most groups tried to do some sort of break dancing/hip hop dance including their clothes. The judges were pretty harsh—I’m talking harsher than Simon on American Idol, which is what I think they based the competition on. The DJ would talk to the judges, get their responses and then talk to a group member to give his feedback. The group we went to see did a traditional dance and was the first group to get no bad feedback. They played the drums and sang and were praised on their costumes and making their own music. I personally think that no Rwandan would criticize their own traditional dancing.
The group we were supporting!
Friday night I went to the Embassy for a movie night which was fun to watch on a big screen. Saturday was bagel day and we got bagels and then went to town to find where to get good fabric. I found out that they made the finals and returned on Saturday for the big showdown. They ended up coming in fourth place which is awesome for only having danced together for 2 weeks. This was the first time they had participated in an event like this and they had a blast. A "famous" singing group called
Dream Boys performed and we had front row seats. There was an adorable little girl that they kept singing to as well.
After the dance competition, I went to Planet Club or what is more commonly referred to as the club at KBC (Kigali Business Center) along with my roommate and his co-worker. I knew this weekend I would not stay out until 5:30 am like the previous trip to the club. I made it home by 2:30 this time. :) The music was great- a Kenyan DJ who was mixing at the dance competition came for the after party and the music was 1000x better than what they were previously playing.
Sunday I went to
Expo, a large trade fair, that is organized by one of our RPOs. It was really neat and my favorite part was a big display by a tea company whose booth was all naturally made, including artwork on the walls made from waste from the tea. They also had a large teapot pouring hot tea and a display of the process of making tea. I stocked up on crafts until I realized my wallet had been pick pocketed--apparently a common occurrence at these large events. While I was not happy about losing my money, bank cards, and id, I realize it was my fault for not being more careful and I learned my lesson. Out of all the times I've been to Africa, this was the first that I had something stolen. I'm over it now and enjoyed Expo regardless of my misfortune.
