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| Welcome to Boguila! |
I have now
been living to the rhythm of CAR and project Boguila for almost a week. I am
not done learning and meeting fantastic people. Until now, my experience with
MSF has been positive and inspiring. Before sharing these with you, I have to
go back a few days…
On April 15,
I take the plane belonging to the International Red Cross Committee (IRCC-CCRI)
which provides a weekly link between the various humanitarian projects in CAR.
This small airplane usually transports passengers, patients, and medical
material. The two pilots of the day,
Mark and Ganesh, give us the usual instructions and our itinerary. And then, we
take off!
After three
landings in different projects, we finally arrive in Boguila! The welcome committee
is all there – Elise (PC), Kami (Finance/Admin), Francesco (TechLog), Jorike
(LogSupply), Margarete (Inf. Outreach) and Wibke (MTL). Also present because
they are visiting from Berlin, Kaz and Michiel. They all invite me for lunch
and then, it is a tour of the facilities.
The expats live
in two houses – Maison A and Maison B. I will be staying in Maison A. Our
kitchen can be found in Maison B. The office is located a few meters from Maison
A and the hospital is faces it. Everything is in close proximity, which is a
good thing for my sense of orientation!
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| Maison A - My pad! |
I actually
feel a little (meaning a lot) unsettled. It is the first time that I am in
Africa and the heat in not easy to tolerate. I get a water bottle (recycled
Fanta bottle!) and everyone encourages me to drink water continuously. The locals are very friendly and smile
easily. They all shake my hand and welcome me to Boguila. I meet so many people
that I don’t even remember the name of the first person I met!
I take some
time to unpack and get settled in my room. When I bring out the two pictures of
my boys, Gabriel (11) and Nicolas (9), I am really wondering what I am doing
here and if I made the right choice in deciding to leave them in Canada to come
here…Doubt sinks in, the distress of a first mission takes hold of me. I am
feeling down…I miss my family, my house, my country. What am I going to do???
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| MSF Office Boguila |
Elise notices
immediately my state of mind and reassures me while letting me share my
feelings, my thoughts. Thanks for the
support and listening, Elise. Without it, my adaptation would not have been so
positive! And in the end, I realize that the whole team is behind me during
these first few days. I am not alone. Thank you!
The next
week will surely be slightly more encouraging …
Thank you
for reading me,
Janique.
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