Winding Down… July 6, 2011

It is a very strange thing to leave a country and not be entirely sure of the next thing you are going to. Work has suddenly become very quiet as all my tasks have been handed over except for a few final things and so my e-mail account is unusually silent. This week and next week have visitors arriving and there are bits of things to do but it is very strange to suddenly have time on my hands and to have to begin the process of leaving. One things that has helped to look forward is a job offer from CMS which is a complete surprise as I was so convinced I would never be offered it I accepted the interview seeing it as a good chance to practice my interview skills (albeit by skype) in preparation for any future job that I thought I might have a slim chance of getting! Getting an interview was also a bit of a surprise as again being totally convinced I would not ever be what they were looking for once they saw my background I spent the shortest time possible on applications and interview prep!!! Clearly though the relaxed attitude I went into it with paid off and actually as the interview progressed the job became more and more attractive even if it is not at all what I thought would be next for me. So the upshot is I’m moving to Oxford to work for people I currently know very little about! I have a cuppa planned with the CMS couple who live in Mbale so they’re going to fill me in before I finally say yes to the lady tomorrow.

So apart from starting to wind down and say goodbyes my main activity has been the adult literacy curriculum which now stands at 85% complete! I have ropped in others who will take it off me when my work is done and add their views and thoughts before it is then trialled out by various folks well after I am gone. Eventually it will be properly branded and hopefully sold to other NGOs so that Oasis Uganda can make some money! To get to that stage will be a long time and won’t be my problem but hopefully I have done enough to make it easy for others to continue. It is at this point that I am glad one of my greatest joys is seeing people develop and that handing things over does not affect my self-esteem! Even when there are new plans being dreamed up I am finding I am ok with them not involving me and instead I am looking forward to hearing how everyone else gets on. There is a massive part of me that sort of wishes I could stay in Uganda forever just because the people I work with as so awesome but I know it’s time to come home and at least this is a great holiday destination! One of my friends said they were only releasing me to return to the UK on the condition I found a job and saved for the airfare to come straight back and visit. At least I know I am leaving Beersheba in a very healthy place, in fact I think it is one of the healthiest projects/programmes I have ever seen and I think great things are in store for it.

So in 4 weeks time I will be waking up in Haddenham probably wondering whether the last 2 years have been a dream. I have been advised to savour every moment of the everyday boring things of life which sum up Africa which I am trying to do before many many folk arrive from the UK in my final two weeks and keep me busy! I think they’re coming at the right time though as I’ll be able to show them around and explain what I’ve been up to which will hopefully help me process as well. Right now all I can do to sum up Africa is say that I’m a very lucky girl to have been able to have such an experience and be taught so much by some truly wonderful people. They would probably say I was a blessing to them but I know that the benefits I have received far outweigh what I have given. Truly a great couple of years and I can’t believe I have only a month left, where did all that time go…

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