MIS PROYECTOS (My projects)

I've just finished the first ever periodical for the Community Participation team here at the Tumbes Health Board. It's been an interesting project and I now feel that I understand a lot more about who's involved in health promotion and what they do. Now I just have to wait while they work out if they've got enough money to print it. My co-workers are busily working on the 08 budget. There's not much I can do so I'm just hogging a computer to write emails and blogspots while they sift through numbers with seriously knitted brows.

Next week is my last week in Tumbes and we (the gringas) are planning a week-long English course for local English teachers. Last night we had a couple of television interviews for local stations to talk about it (a little scary in another language but it seemed to go ok).


We appeared on two different channels which brings me up to three television appearances in Tumbes (had to introduce myself and dance a bit when I accompanied my little sister for a dance thingy she did a month or so ago). I've also lived with two television journalists (Chimbote). Add that to the fact that everyone on the street seems to know my name and want a photo with me, and I feel like quite a star. I'm actually kinda keen to get back to New Zealand where I'm not quite so interesting. At least famous people can wander the streets in disguise - it's a bit tricky to disguise the colour of your skin.

Next week we're moving the office across the road to the main DISA (District Health Board) building. I think the move is partly so we'll be together with the whole promotion team in one office and partly because AECI (Spanish Agency for International Cooperation or somesuch translation) are gradually winding down their work here and we're currently in their building. About half the AECI employees got laid off last week. DISA have also just thrown out the old director and installed a new one. Because a large number of people don't have secure contracts this may mean a whole lot of redundancies in DISA too. It seems quite common that new mayors and such kick out all the the government employees and start afresh with new ones when they enter office, and it seems this could be a possibility with the new health director too. Those on more secure contracts could also get reshuffled. There doesn't appear to be much job security in this country.