October 7, 2007
The long wait is finally over! After five months of being separated, Andy has finally arrived! He’s been in Malawi less than 48 hours – and already he’s met everyone I work with and even went on a photo shoot with Mark and me at 7am this morning (Andy is currently fast asleep in the other room).
Mark (my co-worker) is truly a professional photographer. He arranges photo shoots every Sunday and has allowed me to tag along these past two weeks! He’s much more technical – which has provided a wonderful opportunity for me to experiment with lighting. The following images are my favorites from the past two weekends, including witnessing a Baptism in the river.
Aside from being elated by my reunion with Andy, I am also pleased to announce that the COP has been submitted – all 400 some odd pages! I’m astounded by the enormity of COP – it’s crazy to think that the entire office has been consumed by this one document for the past four months! And just as one reporting requirement ends, another begins (the Annual Progress Report is due next month). Regardless, my job is bound to get more interesting. In fact, I just returned from a week-long conference in Lusaka, Zambia on Electronic Data Systems for ART.
Malawi was selected as a case study. As such, I prepared several presentations and facilitated working groups to discuss Malawi’s specific needs as we move forward with our formal evaluation of our pilot and as we begin to develop our national roll-out plan.
I may even present at another upcoming conference in Nairobi! WHO asked if I’d be willing to showcase Malawi’s unique standards-based approach at their Global Health Data Standards Conference in Kenya. I am thrilled to play a role in this endeavor.
My life is truly about to change. Now that I’m with Andy, we can begin to focus on the here and now. I can’t wait to settle into a routine, cooking meals together, traveling to the lake, and exploring various regions of Africa.
And if anyone ever wants to visit, we have plenty of room.
Much love to all,
Amy