Need a holiday. Need holiday now. Scrap everything I said before about being content!
Ugh. Weekend was a bit of a write-off. Internet went on the blink Friday, so no net access, which was pants as it meant I couldn't access any of my e-mails with info in them like when to meet that lady at Chez Lando. It was umuganda - which essentially means 'day when bugger-all gets done' - community service for the masses. I thought she'd said 2pm, after the buses and everything get going again, but she'd said 12pm, so she waited an hour for me at the right time, and I waited an hour for her at the wrong time. Oh well, chips and a beer, not all bad. Felt a bit of a plonker when I finally got access again at VSO. We're re-arranging, no harm done.
To continue the theme of work and weekend, on Sunday my colleague started nuisance calling me late afternoon to come into the office and deliver the T-shirts I'd taken to sell at the Disability meeting. I was fuming as I was in the middle of half a dozen weekend things and not about to go into the office. Words like 'forward' and 'planning' sprung to mind. Eventually Léon came to pick them up at half-seven at night! I was on the phone to my family - really annoyed me. He said something about them all going to Cyangugu for a couple of days but it came out in the traditional Rwandan broken-English of 'we go to Cyangugu tomorrow' - uh, no, we don't, I've got a meeting at 10am. But it meant 'we' being those already going. At half-seven on a Sunday evening I don't really care to be honest. I was all out of VSO spirit.
The lack of internet was just topped by the lack of water. I am now officially out of clothes. Rwanda's complete inability to make water work really annoys me. My water, specifically. It's been off so long now that all of my clothes smell bad. It makes me more angry that it's been torrentially raining all week. How can rain = no water? I leave the taps permanently on now just in case.
The rain made me late getting into the office today, but I still sat around for well over an hour before the women turned up for the meeting about JAM. It was really productive when it finally did happen. I also put up posters and spread the word for Karen & Antonia's parent and toddler groups, funded by the International Deaf Children's Society. They want strong Deaf role models to go in and meet the parents. I'm trying to drum together some support. I knocked out a draft timetable for the five week IT training, and printed the final copy of the American D&HR proposal for signing. Then I sat around colouring-in with my twelve-year-old friend who sometimes pops in to keep me company. He was at the JAM sports day the other week.
Got a lot achieved really. Then the Chair of my organisation came in mid-afternoon in a tiz. He had a proposal for the EU Human Rights Fund. Originally, I advised him this was a bad idea. Firstly because EU money requires 20% match funding; on a minimum of €80,000 that's €16,000 of shiny coins we don't have to bring to the table. More of a concern, however, are the EU reporting procedures, catches, clauses and chain-tight checking systems. Even VSO said it made them uneasy. What would an ant adrift organisation like ours do other than get into trouble in strong currents?
Really, even in the UK you draft in specialists for EU money; for claiming it, managing it and reporting on it. Sometimes money, even with the best above-board intentions, gets you into trouble - which is why I ran with the American Embassy's smaller fund instead. Start small, work your way up to big bucks when you know you have the systems in place to manage it. At the moment we can't even get our quarterly VSO reports into shape, the EU would eat us alive and ask for pudding.
But, hey ho, they went ahead and drafted in some help writing it. Unbelievably, they have been assured by the EU that if the project floats, the match funding is negotiable - even optional! Contrary to what was suggested at the information day they held earlier last month.
Hats off to Augustin for going for it. It will take a lot of organisation to get this in and make the enquiries. I have to admit to being curious to see where it goes. These guys are nothing if not motivated.
So, he bundled me onto a moto across town to the EU Commission to stand in a line of 20-odd representatives from many organisations, all delivering their proposals thirty minutes before the final deadline. It was interesting. I was discriminated against for being an English speaker. The forms were all in French. When I asked for English, I was told there weren't any. I said 'There should be, this is the EU,' to which the guards laughed and thankfully filled out my form for me, returning with a receipt 20 minutes later. Ho hum. I texted Jo after, telling her my suspicions were confirmed - Britain was never part of Europe.
Afterwards, I decided to cheer myself up with a jaunt to MTN to get my internet connection fixed. I wasn't hopeful. After sitting in 'Business Solutions' being ignored for half an hour, I was gearing up for indignant rant mode when a guy sitting next to me pointed out that I was next to be served. That never happens! A queueing system in Rwanda!? Praise the day. Then the woman did something fiddly which resulted, intentionally or not, in me gaining two months of free internet access! I was almost too stunned to walk out.
Since then, I’ve been at home rekindling my love affair with the internet and scowling at my dried-up taps. D said last night that he’s had enough of Kampala and was going to try and get back today. I’m all out of phone credit, as is he, so don’t know if he managed it. I think it’s more sensible to take the morning bus tomorrow, but he may be back some time early morning or late tomorrow. Or maybe even Wednesday... who knows. It’ll be a nice surprise lol
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