Distance to the world

I had two community meeting today. In the presense of hundreds of women and children (men were not officially invited as they are normally disturbing because of alcohol), we explained the reason of food distribution and arrangement for the coming day. We try to get out of "free food distribution", which is often contrvertial as the thing to cause aid dependency, but the issue is not so simple. After 20 years of devastated war, it is not only land and society which had been affected badly, people's mentality need some amount of time and hope to recover. Without them motivated, without them find it important, none of project will work.

Anyway, they have total crop failure this year, and there are piles of letter and document which requested WFP to provide food. Of course, our food is "to save" life, it should not be problem to do so, but to make it happen, we have to spend so much energy to arrange the distribution properly. It is NOT intellectual work as I do not have to know or apply difficult formula of physics or history of prosophy, but just need tremendous good spirit to move it on.

We should love people and believe their potential. We have to be optimistic but realistic to make it happen. We need good balance to keep us sane, and above all we should have strong stomach. Sounds not so difficult, but it sometimes is.

Altough it has been bloody hot, I love being out to the field as it is the place where there is obvioualy reason for our work. All the paper works or serious meeting will be nothing if food is not reached to the final end. We failed three time to have this meeting, but finally today we could have it with almost 400 women. Without microphone, I did have to shout for my speech. It made me laugh to see translation of "my speech" was much longer and seems to be very different, I am not 100% if they understood what I mentioned, but I don't care. It is gradual step so I did not expect 100 for this gathering. Women have chance to speak up, see some different people from different part of world, and know food is coming. I didnt say anything funny, but people kept laughing. It maybe my face..? Kids like me so much and I have difficulty to get out of their hand shake. I am just like a Mickey mouse in Disney Land.

Commissioner and Government secretary were with me, and they took advantage of meeting so many women at one go. They talked about HIV/AIDS, census, education and community work.....as started from zero, we have many stories to tell, many seeds to bring up. I believe we have long way ahead, but we obviously started our first small steps.

I like one old man from my government counterpart who always gave me funny questions.

He asked me today on the way back to our office.

man "In Japan, do man chase cow?"

mio "we do not normally keep cow"

man "so what do they do"

mio "different type of work"

man ???

man "is your mother not dead?"

mio "as long as i know....she is fine"

man "In Japan in rural area, is house made by what material?"

mio "obviously not iron sheet and bamboo stick!"

Everybody said the world is getting smaller, but still some part of this amazing globe, there is long distance to be connected to the "world" we know. Well, at least that is the reason that I am here. Yes, I enjoy my work to the full.

Happy Eid holiday, everybody!