First few days at work... + food, networking and entertainment
on Z for Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe), 23/Jan/2011 11:51, 34 days ago
Sadza with meat and veggiesSo far I'm liking my job here at the National AIDS Council (NAC) of Zimbabwe - the people are great, the work seems interesting aaaand there's free food! That's right - free traditional Zimbabwean meal for lunch every day! Also we are served free coffee or tea every morning! Fancy, I know :)On my second day at the NAC I was fortunate enough to attend an event for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF). It was a celebration of their accomplishments as well as the launch of a new effort to eliminate pediatric AIDS in Zimbabwe! It was an inspiring program. The speakers included representatives from EGPAF, UNICEF, USAID, and the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr. Henry Madzorera.During the networking session I met some of the top USAID people in Zimbabwe, including a Health Officer I had been in contact with through email! I also met the VP of Africa Management at EGPAF, who apparently was a VSO executive just a few years ago!Oliver MutukudziThe entertainment at the event was provided by (who I'm told is the best) Zimbabwean musician Oliver Mutukudzi. He was indeed very good :) and I actually got to personally thank him for a great show :)I've started brainstorming on the NAC website with my colleague Trust. We are both part of the Communications team and we'll be working together during my project. He seems like a knowledgeable guy and I'm looking forward to learning from him, in addition to sharing my skills.We both have lots of ideas and in addition we've developed a questionnaire to start soliciting feedback from current NAC employees on their thoughts around the website and how it should be improved. BTW, if you'd like to send me any suggestions in the next couple of weeks that would be great. To see the current website, go towww.nac.org.zw(you'll have to be patient as it takes a long time to open).