Back to Dar, Back to Work

We arrived back in Dar es Salaam this past Saturday. How wonderful to be greeted at the airport by a friendly MEDA face and then again at home by our other housemate! The sticky, sweaty weather aside it is great to be back.

Getting home also means getting back to work – and although I was able to keep up with some of the projects I have been working on via email it’s been a busy week as I get caught up on a number of different initiatives.

One such initiative is my work on the youth, livelihoods and HIV/AIDS concept. This past Tuesday we gathered with two other potential partner organizations, some of their implementing partners as well as some youth that they work with to brainstorm on what a successful project might look like. It was a great day with all of the attendees seemingly energized and excited about next steps and the potential impacts for young Tanzanians involved in the project.

There is a continued and growing recognition of the importance of integration in development work and taking a more holistic approach to serving others. By involving organizations that have experience and expertise in the various components of this project we are working together to come up with an innovative and integrated approach to supporting young people not only in protecting themselves against HIV/AIDS but also in providing skills and resources to support themselves economically and plan for their futures.

The importance of having hopes and plans for the future within the context of HIV/AIDS was demonstrated again to me through a conversation I had with a taxi driver named Simon. Simon and I spent some time together and talked a lot about life in Nairobi. He earned his living through driving a taxi but had also secured a small loan in order to build apartments that once completed he will rent out. He was starting off small with only 5 to begin with but he also had plans to expand. Through this project he had hired his cousin to oversee the crew which included 12 men.

When talking about HIV/AIDS he told me bluntly that he was too busy for dating many girls and besides, he had plans for his future and didn’t want to risk things by spending time in bars. He told me he was being picky and waiting to meet the right girl who could help him with his plans. The link was clear to both Simon and I – if you have hope and plans for the future you are more likely to change your behaviour and protect yourself.

In other news the abstract I submitted to the National AIDS conference was accepted for an oral presentation! Unfortunately, because of the short notice and various logistical challenges we are unable to present – but it was great to get the positive response from the review committee. I will be traveling to Arusha on Sunday to attend part of the conference and will be reporting back to my colleagues when I return.

However, what I will be missing during my travels is the staff retreat in which an HIV/AIDS training session for MEDA staff that I coordinated will be taking place. It’s exciting to see an idea transform into reality and I look forward to hearing the feedback on how the session goes in my absence!

Last but not least I am also working on organizing a Microfinance Roundtable Discussion on “Innovation in the Youth Market” for early 2007. As of today I have received positive responses from a number of key stakeholders and have now moved on to doing some logistics work. As always there is an issue of funding but we are exploring a variety of options to address this challenge.

So this is what I have been up to lately. I am finding it hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner – it feels decidedly unlike the holiday season with all this sunny weather! I am heading down to Zambia for Christmas with some friends to distract myself from being away from family by gazing at Victoria Falls. I then head to the beaches of Zanzibar to celebrate New Years. It should be an incredibly busy week.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and lots of love from Tanzania!