Concerning My Job Mostly

My first week back, I mostly just sat at my computer twiddling my thumbs. I was waiting to meet with Dwight (country/regional director) and talk about my job and what initial steps I'd be taking. The meeting happened late in the week and mostly intimidated and confused me. I'm learning hard lessons in being self-initiating, because Dwight doesn't like to hold hands. He's more into casting a vision, throwing out a couple of extra thoughts about how to go about making it a reality, and then letting you loose to flesh it out. I'm not used to it. I'm being forced to brainstorm creatively. It reminds me a lot of FPS (Future Problem Solving) in 4th, 5th and 6th grade, only instead of trying to figure out how to prevent biological waste dumping in Antarctica (my grand idea was to attach bio-waste detectors to the back of Orca (aka killer) whales and have them capsize ships attempting to dump on the South Pole), I'm formulating a regional economic development strategy for Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and DR Congo. Let's hope for the sake of central Africa that this round of brainstorming proves more logical and implementable.

The second week, though, was incredibly busy, and it was exactly what I needed to start seeing my niche and a bit of the process that this next few months will entail. I put together a presentation on ProCom (a local NGO started through FH; more on this later), and I did some cost-analysis for a business proposal bid that we submitted to the government and are now awaiting approval for. The proposal consists of managing a water treatment and distribution system that the World Bank built in the Southern Province of Rwanda. It seems like an incredible opportunity for us and for the Mayaga water district, as it will provide clean water to potentially 120,000 families for less than 3 cents/gallon, and it will provide a source of reliable funding for other development projects. This concept of using profits from business to fund development projects is referred to as "social entrepreneurship," and one that will be a central aspect of our economic development strategy. My job involves identifying and developing potential business opportunities in this region and helping to put in place a mechanism for securing investment funds for the startup of these businesses. The idea is to eventually have a considerable percentage of our project funding coming from the profits of these businesses, which will make our projects more independent and sustainable in the long run. As the means for moving forward, we've started ProCom, who will own these businesses (local NGOs can be the sole proprietor of a business whereas international NGOs cannot) and begin to implement new projects and vie for government contracts that FH-Rwanda would be doing and receiving. It is really a fascinating model for economic development, and I am extremely excited to be a part of the conceptualizing of this strategy. I think that provides a good basic outline of the things I'm involved with right now at work. If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll try to answer them as best I can. I'll be posting more on this stuff throughout my time, I'm sure.

It is lunchtime now, and after I eat I'm going to RIEPA (Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency) to look into regional business registration. Should be a hoot.

We move into our new house tomorrow, which is a national holiday in Rwanda, Heroes Day. I think its similar to Memorial Day or Veteran's Day in the States. Maybe I'll put some pics up of the new house layout. Its pretty sweet. There is a gazebo in the backyard that sort of overlooks a nice valley.