Visitors in October

Also in October, I was able to host another visitor from HQ in Somalia. As I’ve said previously, these visits are good for us for a number of reasons. The visibility is good for us obviously as is the increased understanding of the Somalia context by the visitors. It’s a context that is different from what people think. It’s more of about everything. It’s more developed. It’s more undeveloped (depending on where you are). It’s more beautiful. It’s harsher (depending on where you are). It’s safer than what you think but also more unsafe (depending on where you are). The people are more welcoming than you’d think, though some are quite hostile to Westerners (depending on where you are). It’s poorer and richer. Etc. Etc. Like I’ve said, this sort of thing likely applies to most countries but here is seems more acute. 

encampments of people who have been displaced by drought or conflict

With this visitor in October, we did much the same visit that I’ve taken people on numerous times. We finished at a restaurant on the beach. We had lots of security support but we were at least able to sit down to a nice/short lunch of lobster and watermelon followed by an espresso. It’s one of my favorite things to do in this country. It’s a rare treat when most of the time is spent in offices behind walled compounds.  

A week later I was back hosting another visitor. This time the focus was more security related. We have one of the best security teams in the entire organization but occasionally it’s good to have external eyes on what you’re doing. The visit went as planned and it was good to have the confirmation that we’re on top of things. Yes, we sort of knew it since we don’t have much choice but it’s good to hear it from a third party.