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["I got three African suits which look really great."] Monday June 13 Freetown 6:30 pm: The last three days have been really intense. Three days was probably a bit short for the handover and it was unfortunate that it fell over the weekend. So we really only had two hours on Friday afternoon, Saturday morning (it is a half day Saturday) and 2 hours this morning. We could have worked on Sunday but I thought it best we both have a bit of a break as I guessed that Veronique was a bit jet lagged and I am pretty tired after so long in the field and don't function at the same intense level as when I arrived. A few other things came up like Petra and Ricardo getting sacked and me having to clean out their rooms. So in the end I only could spend 3 hours handing over to Veronique. It was a pity because we planned to do a lot. I would have liked to have shown her how to do the May bookkeeping, but Veronique is really competent so I am sure she will be fine. In the end all I could do was handover the keys to the safe we didn't even have time to do a cash count. My logistics laptop crashed after I sent my last diary entry so I wasn't able to print out the handover for Veronique. I actually spilt a cup of tea on it. I will write up the handover again tomorrow and send it to her. I think I can piece it together. Ricardo and Petra got sacked on Saturday. Well Ricardo got sacked after a heated argument with Richard and Petra resigned for real this time and then Richard sacked her. Richard was angry that Petra and Ricardo had contacted Paris directly after their first meeting with Richard and making a complaint against him. The Director of Hope contacted Richard and asked him what was going on and told him he better get his act together. So he set up a second meeting and everything fell apart. I really think that everyone probably overreacted. I think there has just been a bit of a personality clash. So in the end I had to pack up all of Petra's and Ricardo's belongings and bring them with me. I feel a bit sorry for Veronique all alone to run the programme. It is going to be a really steep learning curve for. Richard asked me to go to the hospital to negotiate with them on handing over their outpatient department to Hope. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time but it will be an interesting first challenge for Veronique. I had a great leaving party on Saturday, the national staff organised it and it was really good fun. There was lots of food and some drinks. I spent the last of the my per diem on the party and also had to get $200 from the safe in Leons. I put it in my handover for Veronique to put that in the bookkeeping so Anne can take it out of my sub account. But then I had the problem with the computer and because I was so busy I just forgot to tell her. I will send her an email tomorrow. I got three African suits which look really great. The party ended pretty quickly after the food and drinks finished. I was really surprised how quickly all the food went. We had 8 goats and 12 chickens to feed 35 people. So it amazing how much everyone ate. After the party finished at 9:30 pm I had a few drinks with Veronique as a pretty big storm came over. She is a really nice person and I am glad she is taking over. She will do a great job. I am going out with Ricardo and Petra soon, they are pretty down in the dumps at the moment. I will stay with them for an hour or two and then try and find some more cheery company as it is the end of my mission and my second last night in Freetown, maybe I can hook up with Anne and her boyfriend. I will talk to you tomorrow after my debriefing. |
Dave (me) Claudia
Angelina Ricardo
Claude Christian
Jen Petra
Bono
Anne Peter
Veronique Richard
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