Wednesday 27 April

Each day I spend here is different.  Today is no exception. 

Getting organised

I get in nice and early with Eyrun and we prepare for our meeting with funders.  Eyrun transfers the visionary organisational chart onto a poster, while I make visible a (flipchart) poster written in Kiswahili which has on it information about the organisation as a reporting centre for cases.  We go through all possible questions we are likely to be asked by the funder and we ready up all the files.  Julie arrives.  She is happy with how organised we are.  Eyrun’s work on the filing system has definitely played a big part in getting us organised.   Given that we had very short notice from the funder, we would have been in a fluster trying to find relevant documents had we not focused on sorting out the filing system.  It’s basic, cost-free (apart from two masking tape we bought for less than £2), and honestly, I’m rather proud of it; though I reckon Eyrun is even prouder of her work so far on this.

Finally, the new funder arrives for the visit.  In some ways we are more prepared than they are, and the meeting goes well, I think.  They promise to get in touch once they have met with all the organisations they are supporting in Kibera.  

The realities of blogging

There is also another hoo-hah today which makes me realise how much of an impact blogs can make.   I find out how true this is when one of the local staff finds out through email communication with some friends in the US about some information linked to the organisation.  Lulu is unaware where this information has come from, but manages to cause quite a stir among other local staff in the office to which I’m completely oblivious.  But Julie tells me all about it later – I remind her that I have a blog and that the ‘US links’ may have come across it.  She’s OK with the fact that I have a blog.   Later, when I carry out a google search the only blog that comes up with the organisation’s name is mine.  

My writing to date has been limited to poems, and to some badly written non-fiction prose.  Basically, I’ve never done any writing like this before or put anything like this out in the public sphere.  When I first thought about blogging, I saw it as a way of bringing family and friends on this journey ‘literally’ with me.  It has been a way of documenting my thoughts and opinions on all aspects of development issues, as well as making a note of key trends that I hope to develop in the future.  

So now I come to realise very quickly as I blog how important it is to protect people’s identity, as well as organisations depending on the context.  I have also had some advice from a couple of journalist friends, so after much editing of everything I’ve already put out there, I think I’m back on track!