One week in

By Lindsay

'Day 8 in the Juba House, residents Steve and Lindsay are one full week into life with Medair, in Juba, living communally, and working in the Humanitarian sector...'



Things I wish I'd known before coming:

1. Bring more mugs, they go walkies

2. Pack fewer clothes, you really don't need them

3. Bring a bedside lamp to avoid the mosquito net, tangle, light situation 

4. Remember that you are starting as a beginner and you don't know anything!

It's been a very positive week on the whole. The overnight flights from Birmingham to Juba were smooth, and the second, longer flight (from Istanbul) was quite empty so we both got a whole row to ourselves to lie down. I'd been warned that the airport arrival experience can be long, hot and chaotic, so was well prepared, but it was a lot easier than anticipated. We were met by the lovely Miriam who works in Nairobi (normally) but has been covering my job role for a few months in the gap between my predecessor going and me coming. 

Since arriving, we have been through a series of briefings with colleagues here at the Base (Medair office and residential buildings), watched some information videos, been on Teams meetings with colleagues at the Support Office in Switzerland, and tried to get our heads into our new job roles. I have Miriam 😊 and Steve has had some chats with people who are not based in Juba, but who can help him settle in. I wouldn't say either of us have a solid handle on what we're meant to be doing yet... Week 1, week 1...  

We have a nice room and bathroom and are part of a team of around 105 working here. 80 are South Sudanese who come in daily and live locally. Around 25 of us are international staff recruited from (mainly) other African countries, and about 8 others (including us) harking from Australia, America, Germany and the good ole' UK. Very multi-cultural! We share kitchen facilities and some common space up on the roof (there is a very nice shelter one side for meetings, and open space with chairs the tables the other side). We are very well fed receiving a cooked lunch AND dinner, and with breakfast things provided. The food so far has been (on the whole) delicious and carb-tastic! We have also visited the little on-site gym a few times to mitigate against the bloat.

Medair is great. I've learnt a lot more about what Humanitarian work looks like over this week. For us in South Sudan - we work from 3 places outside Juba and run projects to do with health and nutrition, shelter, and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene). And from Juba, the Emergency Response Team operates, getting out to places asap where additional crises are occurring, conducting assessments and deciding on a course of action (alongside local people and other organisations). It's pretty amazing! The rest of our big team here in Juba supports those projects - HR, finance, ICT, logistics, Monitoring & Evaluation, advisors and managers. And me and our army of cooks, cleaners and guards making sure the place works well.  

I hope that is a little insight into what we're doing... In terms of 'how we are', we are healthy, enjoying getting stuck in, finding frustrations with not knowing it all immediately, adjusting but generally really good. No big upsets yet! 

PS. the internet is a wonderful thing, and it's been really, deeply lovely having some WhatsApp calls this week. Feel free to contact us as much as you want. 

With lots of love!

Steve & Lindsay

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