Welcome to the UNDP...

The day after arriving in Maputo, I was up early and ready to begin my new work experience. I woke up and had breakfast prepared for me by our house lady who arrives at 7:15 every morning. Halfdan quickly explained to me that it is important that I do nothing, no dishes, laundry, general cleaning etc. during the week as it would be taking away from her work and she likes keeping busy. Also, she would think that I was dissatisfied with her work. He told me that he had to accept her as part of the terms of lease for the apartment, and that it took some time before becoming adjusted to it. As uncomfortable as it makes me, I have accepted the arrangement for now, but the idea of becoming adjusted to having someone do everything for me is not appealing. Part of it I believe has to do with my own conceptions of privacy. As I would learn when I got home later that day and found that my suit case, and bags, had been completely emptied, and everything in them had been neatly put away, I realized that i would need to revisit my ideas of privacy.

I arrived at the UNDP at 8:00am sharp for my first day. I was introduced to my direct colleagues who were pleasantly surprised that I spoke Portuguese, something for which I have been receiving numerous compliments for (thank you to my parents). No one knew quite what to do with me, and there was no desk space yet made available, and I began to get a troubled feeling. Luckily, a coworker (her name is Mirza) invited me to come along and attend a daily briefing of the emergency, relief, and reconstruction situation in Zambezi and other regions in Mozambique (for those of you who had not heard, Central and Northern Mozambique had undergone some major flooding caused by heavy rains, the worst since the floods of 2000-01 which killed and displaced many people, if that was not bad enough two cyclones, or hurricanes, one of which was particularly strong hit in February exacerbating the relief situation). We called a driver, and we were off. We arrived at what I was told is a Military Air force base, I would have never guessed. Pleasantries were exchanged and the briefing was had. I was quite impressed with the level of discussion and coordination that was going on, and would later find out that the Government's response to the situation has been considered exemplary. For me, it was an exciting new experience to be able to witness this new environment.

After the meeting the National Director for the coordination of emergency and relief activities, a friend of Mirza's, offered us a ride back. He asked us if we wanted the direct route or the indirect route. I am glad I chose the latter. After finding out that it was my first full day in the city he took it upon himself to give me a tour. A very jovial character, he had me laughing the entire time. Driving around in Mozambique you begin to develop a profound appreciation for traffic civility in Canada, yes even in Quebec. As quickly told the golden rule in Mozambican traffic philosophy "there are no rules only suggested guidelines". After commenting that I was somewhat concerned by the lack of care taken for the safety of pedestrians I learned that "In Mozambique its the cars that have priority because they are in the minority". Seems reasonable. For my first day in Maputo I could not have asked for anything better than the guided tour that I was given. We had lunch in a restaurant by the ocean and I then was returned to the UNDP building.

In the afternoon I was taken around and introduced to the few people who had shown up to work that day. Then spent the rest of the day reading up on the current assistance program to the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM). By the end of the week I had a large air conditioned office, with a computer and stacks of binders to go through. I attended my security briefing where I was told the many ways in which my stay here can be made unpleasant. I also spent a large amount of time processing my documents to obtain my residency here (that should come through soon I hope). On the Friday a colleague of mine, Miguel, came into my office and basically asked me if I was interested in collaborating on initiating a new project proposal. As the police project is scheduled to end this fall, with fading hope for renewal of the same format for assistance, I was asked to be part of a small project team to create a proposal for a project on assistance on Crime Prevention which would bring together policing and small arms (which is Miguel's current project field). I was made the programme officer for policing, and began attending meetings regularly, mostly on small arms, but soon will be meeting with 'my' contacts at the PRM. I honestly have little idea of how the process works, and am just now getting up to speed on the situation with the reform of the PRM. I cannot get into too much detail of course, but the major issues with the PRM are lack of institutional and human capacity, and corruption. Tackling those hurdles would facilitate improving other deficient areas. Needless to say that for me it seems like an overwhelming task given the length of my posting, but it is an excellent opportunity to position myself as indispensable (brain don't fail me now).

I have quickly been targeted as the most confident anglophone in the office and thus have been asked to review and edit some very important proposals. Not the funnest of jobs, but it is amazing to see the glaring mistakes and horrible grammar that even the most professional of people make here. The entire country office is undergoing a re-organization of sorts, beginning at the top and working its way slowly downward. This has the effect of making all current structures temporary, and thus makes giving me clear guidance and involving me in projects difficult (especially since there are those who are clinging to their projects with resounding conviction, and do not want to appear incapable by asking for assistance, ironic considering that is probably why they appear incapable in the first place). Regardless, I will find my niche, and as some colleagues have been very good to point out; enjoy this time cause once you get started and they notice how much they can use you, you will wish you had days like these where your only responsibility was to surf the website and read documents. I must admit, I have only been here two weeks and there is already significant discussion on bringing me in on different projects, so I think I will heed their advice. They were extremely relieved to get a Portuguese speaker, especially at the level that I am at, which is better than some senior programme officers. So again the golden rule of Africa comes into play, hurry up and wait (I must exercise patience).

In the meantime, I am enjoying the amazing liberty that comes with working at the UNDP. I get 2.5 days a month in time off (totaling 6 weeks by the end of it), along with 8 unjustified absences, 10 national and UN holidays, and off at 1:30pm every Friday. Not to mention that accountability here is a very loosely defined term. Add to that the excellent European tradition of no shorter than 45 minutes for lunch, and I am beginning to wonder when am I ever going to get any work done. I am sure my tune will change soon, and there are things that will get on my nerves, but I trust in my ability to adapt, and have always prided myself in fitting in well with my work environment. Plus, if there is one thing that I inherited from my time at CANADEM is a overwhelming lack of surprise at the inefficiencies and bureaucracies found in government and international organizations like the UN. Patience and flexibility are the two most important qualities in this field; I look forward to having my capacities in both tested over this coming year.