With the grant writing done, it'll be outreach next week

The past two weeks for me have been crazy... running around like a chicken with my head cut off! But it's been worthwhile. With the onset of cholera in the Grand'Anse region, things are moving fast... and they must. People are dying and the cholera isn't slowing down for the holidays.

As such, I've been involved in a bunch of fast-moving, fluid grant proposals for a variety of issues near Jeremie. Cholera treatment is obviously the biggest issue, but it invariably leads to a number of related issues.

With local necklacings being blamed on cholera-related voodoo, education is obviously important. And there are other health issues -- disposal of bodies -- that must be addressed.

The last two weeks have not only been long, they've been draining. To hear the heartbreaking stories of death... and the wonderful success stories of continued life... it's something I never thought I'd experience as a CPA. But I do love it, despite the highs and lows that can take a toll.

Anyway, with the holidays here, things are slowing down on the funding side and picking up on the humanitarian / outreach side. With the cholera outbreak hitting the Jeremie area a few weeks ago, I expect that funding should be arriving now. So greater outreach efforts will be possible.

With that in mind, I'm expecting to get out there myself next week. I had the opportunity for some hands-on work back in August... and this will be my first time since then to get involved in more of the hands-on work that convinced me to come here. I realize I'm here for my professional skills, but it was the ability to be directly involved in humanitarian work that got me here.

Tim White