We ventured to Golden Beach after finishing the week's work. Olivia Mak, an Australian, Scott Fellow, and supporter of some American things, suggested the Sinkor Restaurant and Bar. Andrew and I share an office with her at the Ministry of Commerce. She's a lawyer by training and quite able to navigate Liberia's government and systems. She has also helped to orient me about the workings of the office.
The Ministry of Commerce is very orderly in its structure, but like any office, personalities play a big part. Each area has a culture and a tightly woven group of old schoolers who protect it. Employees seem to assume that any new person seeks to disrupt their ways. They have good reason to fear because every Ministry is over staffed while the government is underfunded. Fortunately, everyone is respectful and kind, even if they avoid or stall you.
We support Ministry workers in policy formulation. It often means that a ministry employee needs us to write something that they must present. Sometimes it's for a UN group or USAID, no matter the donor, they all have deadlines that seem to be tomorrow. Even though ministries are overstaffed, the surplus is not in the areas that need it. Many key employees are still over worked. Olivia's patience and calm when set between the overworked and dead weight has set a good example for me to follow.
While Liberia's after work culture is developing, ex-pats like to grab drinks at week's end. Golden Beach, unlike most ocean front spaces, actually has a well groomed beach. It was full of ex-pats, but is run by Liberians who are far better at customer service than most Liberian establishments. Olivia had made an excellent suggestion. I was a bit surprised that Ms. Mak was ready for drinks because she is recovering from Malaria, but I wouldn't have guessed if I had met her that night. An evening on the beach is a great start to the weekend. So, we took the time to record some video blogs from the beach.
Meet Olivia and find out about Travis' work as well as my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment