workshop cancelled - AGAIN

I went to Ouaga on Tuesday for 2 things; a 3 hour meeting with Clinton Fdn, UNICEF, CMLS and representatives from a number of hospitals and a 3 day norms and protocols workshop that has been scheduled and cancelled every week since my return from Canada.

In both cases, the CMLS invitation letters didn't go out until the last second, so that the required people weren't present.

Despite that, we continued with the Clinton Fdn meeting but the big outcome was that CMLS needs to follow the formal channels to engage people in this UNITAID donation (a huge donation of 1st & 2nd line ARVs, lab testing supplies and nutritional supplements for 2000 kids), otherwise they will block it. That's just the reality of life here; very formal, very hierarchical. Even trying to organize a donation; there are lots of examples of donations being sent back / thrown out / put in a cupboard never to see the light of day not because they weren't needed, or useful, etc, but because the director (or whichever person at the top of the pecking order) wasn't officially informed.

The workshop was cancelled - on the morning it was supposed to start. I am SO annoyed that I went all the way to Ouaga for that! Then i organized some things for today, but they too got cancelled so I hopped on a bus and came home. I'm in my own dining room now, glad to be here.

I did have some really useful informal meetings with Clinton Fdn & UNICEF, so it was actually worth the trip, I think. Still aggravating though.

Ouaga has a new Indian restaurant, so I had chana masala & naan & chai & gulab jamun for lunch today - expensive but really tasty. What a treat!