Got the packet of info for the trip. Much of the information in there pertains more to people working for longer periods of time in various parts of the country. I will be working for only three weeks in Zamfara state which is in the northwest region of the country. A lot of the "scary" security concerns (i.e. kidnapping) are related to the oil companies which operate along the southern coast. The work we are doing is related to MSF which has a good reputation in the country. In reality, the most dangerous aspect of this work is going to be traveling on the roads over there.
The packet contains many pages of English/Hausa translations. The people in the villages apparently speak little or no English. The state and local officials who will be on site speak English, so that will be very helpful.
I finally learned yesterday that I won't be heading over there until the end of November. It is very likely that I will be leaving on or around Thanksgiving and that I won't be back until Christmas. Not ideal at all, but I don't expect to be able to switch times with anyone. Also, I believe that I will be teamed up with someone recruited by the Blacksmith Institute. So not only will I be in an area of the world I have never seen, I will be there with someone I don't know. Should be very interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment