I have been at World Vision Australia (WVA) now for 5 weeks, and it's been quite a learning curve! It felt as if even before I arrived my diary was full - orientation and introductory meetings, interrupted the few days I had with my team members before they all went on holidays and left me to manage the cluster. “Welcome and See you later...” he said trying to hide the smile and the desperation to get away.
So here I am: My time so far (other than the meetings) has been spent appraising and designing development projects:
- in Azerbaijan we’re going to work to reform education systems so that the business sector has faith in young people (with a focus on the disabled) who are trained in technical trades. And we are going to train and assist Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in diversified crop management and marketing.
- in Afghanistan we’re going to work with women to develop livelihood projects, (with a focus on Bee keeping) so that women and children will become self-supporting and hopeful for a future. And we’re going to work with communities to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
- in Pakistan we’re going to train teachers and assist rural communities to educate children, especially girls. And we’re going to train and employ midwifes so that the horrific under 5 mortality rate can be arrested
- in Georgia we’re going to work with the Ministry of Health to decrease the prevalence of HIV/AIDS as a result of migratory work patterns and gender mores, through training, awareness, counselling and testing.
