WFP response to emergency in Haiti

The earthquake in Haiti is rightly dominating the news - the terrible scenes of destruction are a reminder of just how vulnerable we all are to the power of nature. Of course the whole humanitarian community is working very hard to respond as quickly and as effectively as possible in very difficult circumstances, and already WFP has started distributing food to those affected. WFP is very much geared towards responding to this sort of emergency and within the first few days had deployed additional staff to support the existing team there, including establishing emergency telecommunications for the entire humanitarian community - this is something that WFP is responsible for as 'cluster-lead' for the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), and it is the main area in which Vodafone supports WFP.

In the days after the earthquake there were fears for a number of staff who couldn't be contacted, but most have now been accounted for, although tragically it has been confirmed that one local staff member was killed. The local WFP office is still standing, but is unusable due to risk of collapse and so staff have been re-located to the UN mission 'Log Base' near the airport, where living conditions are said to be very difficult. Similarly the warehouse facilities that were in place are now unstable and so alternatives are being quickly sought to allow emergency food supplies to continue to be distributed.

The scale of the emergency operation is such that it will be among the largest in the history of WFP, and as a largely Francophone region a number of staff from here in West Africa, including from the IT team, have been asked to re-deploy to Haiti to assist with the operation. The emergency has also meant that some of the projects we were working on here are likely to be delayed as resource get diverted to where they are most needed, in Haiti.

I'm sure that the thoughts and prayers of us all are with the people of Haiti at this time. If you feel you would like to make a doantion to help WFP with its work in Haiti please follow this link:

https://www.wfp.org/donate/haiti.

Settling back in to life in Dakar

As I said in my last post, it was very strange coming back to Dakar, but now after only a few days I now feel back 'at home' again. A really busy weekend has helped me settle back into the Dakar way of life. On Friday I was at a party at Jessica's house, not far from where I live. Her appartment is quite small, so the party was held on the roof terrace, which is right under the flight path for planes landing at the airport - so every now and then all conversation had to come to a stop as a plane approached and then flew straight overhead, about 50 feet above us - quite a sight.
On Saturday a group of us went to Lac Rose (the Pink Lake), just outside Dakar. Lac Rose is where the Paris-Dakar rally used to end (the rally claimed the lives of too may village children and so now no longer takes place, at least not in Senegal - last year it was in South America!) and is so-called because of its pink colour caused by algae. The algae must have been having a rest this weekend because the lake was more of a dull brownsih colour, but I'm told it becomes pinker as the water level drops during the dry season - so hope to go back when Raksha comes over in February - and it better be pink or I'll want my money back.
Anyway it was a really nice weekend - some of our party were taking part in a half-marathon round the lake - I opted to join the party of walkers rather than runners, and still managed to sprain a muscle in my leg - so no tennis this week! I also managed to get sunburned - a lesson that even in mid-winter you need to be careful of the power of the sun here in West Africa.

Return to Dakar

Well I'm back in Dakar now after a week skiing in the French Alps (see picture - Raksha, Naina and Kiran, Christmas day) and a week at home in the UK, which was equally cold and snowy. When I arrived in the UK it was covered in a blanket of snow and as I left it had turned very cold and more snow was forecast which I know has now arrived - a stark contrast to the sunny and warm (although not hot anymore) days here.

It feels very strange coming back to Africa after being home with my family for a couple of weeks; it's going to take a few days to adjust back to the way of life here, which is very different to the UK. It's hard to believe that I've only been away for a couple of weeks, but I know after a few days it'll be as if I haven't been away at all as I settle back in to the routine of work and life here.

Personally 2009 was certainly an interesting and eventful year - at the start of the year I doubt whether I could have pointed to Senegal on a map and knew very little about the great work that the World Food Programme does. Now I've had 6 months living and working in Senegal and have had the opportunity of working with some very committed people here in WFP and to see the great effort that's being made to try and eradicate hunger in the world. Its been a real privilege and I'm looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that 2010 will bring.

A happy, prosperous and interesting New Year to you all!