The Home Stretch

My tour in Afghanistan is rapidly coming to a close with just a couple weeks left.  The many goodbye parties have already begun and this will be the time to focus on finishing outstanding work and begin to transition away responsibilities and hopefully establish tools to improve continuity for those to come.

This second year was challenging in that many of the colleagues with whom you became close with and spent so much time suddenly switch out and you begin the process of starting over with the new people who have come.  Fortunately, there were great people, new friends and old, that arrived and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to meet, work, and live with all of them.  Kabul really is a unique place where you can form such close-knit relationships in a brief amount of time.

The last few months have been busy and exciting.  I took a trip back to the US and went on the first trip in a decade with my brothers, saw lots of friends, explored several of the national parks in the southwest, and had some great experiences at work.

The next chapter of my foreign service adventure will take me back to Indonesia where I will help support my old office for nine weeks on temporary assignment.  It will be great to see old colleagues and friends and it will reunite me with my wife.  Then, it will be a brief home leave back to the US for a couple of weeks and then off to the next big chapter beginning in Thailand.

I'm excited and anxious.  Let's do this!

The flowers are blooming!

Mt. Sinabung and End of Tour Reflections

On Feb. 1, 2014 the Mt. Sinabung volcano in Indonesia’s North Sumatra Province erupted, displacing approximately 31,400 people.  The US Ambassador to Indonesia declared a humanitarian disaster and USAID responded by providing relief through the procurement and distribution of emergency relief commodities for displaced communities.

This was my first award as a warranted Contracting Officer.  I was able to serve on the team that distributed the supplies to the displaced communities allowing me to be deeply engaged in the work and relationships USAID was building at a personal level.  The trip to the site began with a press ceremony event in conjunction with the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency where we presented the assistance offered by the United States and described the types of help USAID and our partners could provide.  The majority of the affected people came from rural, farming backgrounds and we talked with the children and their parents about how the eruptions have affected them in order to better understand their situations and living conditions.  We toured a nearby evacuation center, a large warehouse-like building, where over one hundred people were living with minimal facilities and only two toilets.  I was startled at the level of disruption and uncertainty the evacuees faced and I’m proud to have been a part of USAID’s effort in supporting those that were displaced during this trying time and then their eventual transition home.

Identifying their homes to Principal Officer Kathryn Crockart from the Medan Office

After the event, we spent a few minutes kicking around a soccer ball which we had brought to give to the children.  For this moment, there was normalcy in the middle of an abnormal situation and this gave me an opportunity to relate to the people with whom we were partnering.  I connected the impact and meaningful difference a small investment can have in the sectors where we work in Indonesia.

As I approach the end of my tour, I reflect on the influence I have had through my work and the connections I have made from the Mt. Sinabung experience and others.  My time in Indonesia has also greatly influenced me, most strongly through the people met, Indonesian and American, inside out outside the Mission, developing my confidence and ability to affect positive change.  Moving on to my next assignment, a conflict environment with very different conditions from Indonesia, I endeavor to continue representing and promoting the interests of our country and look forward to facing and addressing the new challenges to come.

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/11/the-eruptions-of-mount-sinabung/100630/

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/01/the-continued-eruptions-of-mount-sinabung/100660/

Ciliwung River Cleanup

USAID's logo wasn't meant to be there but they already printed the banners.

The Ciliwung River is 97 km (60 miles) long and flows through from the mountains through much of Jakarta.  This river has a reputation for being one of the most polluted in the world and is filled with industrial and agricultural runoff, pollution, and waste.  Many urban poor have unofficial settlements and housing near the banks of the river and use the river for household purposes, bathing, trash disposal, and even drinking.  The pollution of the river is also a contributor to the river's frequent flooding which occurs annually during the rainy season.

Since coming to Indonesia, I've been working with the the Embassy's Green Team on various activities to lessen the negative environmental impact of the US Embassy community but also work with the external community to to improve the environment.  Timed near Earth Day on April 27th, we teamed up with a local NGO and community organizations to organize a river cleanup event to raise awareness and attempt to kick-start the government and community to take action in managing the health of the river and demonstrate the US Government's commitment to environmental stewardship.

The Ambassador speaking at the start of the event.

US Ambassador Blake joined the Green Team in the cleanup adventure as we rafted down several kilometers picking up trash along the banks.  Since many of the people living along the river were doing so unofficially, they had little to no access to public services.  Thus, the river served as their source of water as well their location for waste disposal.  Even as we were rafting by picking up trash from the river, we could see people throwing garbage bags into the water.  The problem is complicated since public services can't be provided to people who shouldn't be living there in the first place so alternative housing would have to be found to even begin moving people.  Definitely a long term effort but I believe we at least put more attention to the issue in the media and received positive press.

Community unites to clear garbage from Ciliwung River (Jakarta Post)
Pemerintah AS Beri Perhatian Serius atas Kondisi Sungai Ciliwung (VOA)

Shanty housing under the train tracks.

That's actually plastic hanging from the trees.

More unofficial housing settlements.

A traditional raft and rope used to cross the river.

Local community observing by a trash heap.

Helping Hands at Bakti Luhur School

A home for around 300 children and young adults with physical and mental disabilities in Jakarta, the Bakti Luhur Foundation in Indonesia has facilities around the country to provide a home and care for the poor, disadvantaged, and disabled.

In early March, members of the Helping Hands club of the US Embassy Jakarta teamed up with Golden Rama Tour and Travel Caring Club to have an event with Bakti Luhur to help improve the environment of the school by painting the walls of the school with lively animals and murals with the residents.  The event was attended also with the Deputy Chief of Mission Kristen Bauer, a regular participant and supporter of Helping Hands activities.

Kristen Bauer with residents of Bakti Luhur.

Lunch preparations.

The school is located in South Jakarta and is several floors high with the feel of an old 70's school with the lightly yellow painted walls.  The day's activities included opening with singing and balloon animals with the kids, distribution of lunches to the children and teachers, and then painting for the rest of the afternoon.

Busy painting

Lunch break!

Some of the impressive artwork.

Many of the paintings were very impressive and the residents of Bakti Luhur had a great time drawing and painting the murals for their school.  It was great opportunity for members of the embassy to get involved in the community and make small impacts in the lives of others.

America at the Mall

The US outreach efforts in Indonesia seek to reach out to the community in new and innovative ways.  With the heavily urbanized nature of Jakarta, US public diplomacy efforts includes a location within a central business district mall to respond to Indonesia's mall culture.

This week, USAID hosted an event at @america to announce winners of a photo contest from various USAID activities.  It was also an opportunity to showcase the work of USAID in a public forum.   The Mission Director hosted the event and even included public media in attendance.  It was a good first event, and hopefully we can continue to improve upon and host future events in the future.

@america holds multiple events every day.  They commonly have embassy staff as speakers on various topics throughout the week to present to school groups.  A few months ago, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of middle-schoolers about my hometown, a little bit about myself and education, and about the work of USAID.  It was a great experience and I'm hoping to find the time to do it again in the future.

A Visit to Pyongyang

Yes, that's right.  Took a trip to Pyongyang.  Pyongyang Restaurant that is.

I've been wanting the opportunity to try this restaurant for myself for a while now after hearing many others mention going there.  The Pyongyang Restaurant chain is said to be a North Korean government-run franchise of restaurants offering North Korean cuisine that also serve as North Korea's version of public diplomacy.  Some even rumor that North Korean diplomats work in these restaurants at night as the wait-staff.

I have to admit, if the above is true, it seems effective.  Though I don't believe the wait-staff are "diplomats" in the traditional sense moonlighting at the restaurant, they quite possibly could be diplomats in the sense that they attempt to represent their country in the best light sharing Korean culture.  And if you're going to share your culture, I think the route through food is definitely one of the best approaches!

The waitresses at the Pyongyang Restaurant in Jakarta wear traditional Korean attire and were very friendly and attentive.  They were all ethnically Korean and we assumed to all be from North Korea.  The restaurant was fairly plainly decorated but featured a performance stage in the restaurant center.

The menu featured a small selection of Korean BBQ meats, many vegetables dishes containing mushrooms, and Korean noodles and soups.  Following ordering, they served several free side dishes (banchan) and our beverages while we awaited for our order to come.

Pyongyang Soju!

Famous Cold Noodles

About mid-way into the meal with half our dishes served, the waitresses in the restaurant went to the stage and began performing.  Following the first performance, they would then take turns between performing and continuing serving guests for about the next half hour.  The songs they performed were a mix of Korean, Chinese, and American songs that could probably be found at any karaoke (in fact, it looked like they were singing from a karaoke machine).

At the end of the meal, after paying and preparing to leave, we asked if we could take a picture with the waitresses.  Instead of just taking the picture at our table, they invited us to come to the stage instead to take a big group picture with them!

I was pretty impressed with the whole experience.  A shame none of us spoke Korean as it would be nice to have been able to try to chat a learn more about their story and the country.  Definitely an interesting approach to public diplomacy and rare opportunity to try North Korean cuisine!

Aceh

Aceh, believed to be the area of the spread of Islam in Indonesia, it was also home to the Free Aceh Movement striving for independence.  More recently, it became a location of great international interest following the earthquake and tsunami of 2004 in which an estimated 170,000 people perished. 

Following the tsunami of 2004, Aceh received much assistance from the international community, including from USAID.  The largest investment from USAID was the reconstruction of the Aceh road which links the city with many of their natural resource production areas.  Other investments include the Aceh Polytechnic college which was funded jointly by private-public sector partnership with corporations and USAID.  Today, much of the development assistance has ended with efforts going to other areas.

Islam is very widely practiced in Aceh and the province is occasionally heard in the news as the one province in Indonesia which incorporates Sharia law in legal administration.  The area is sometimes mentioned every so often also for discriminatory or extremist laws or regulations being brought up by local administrations.  However, from just my short time there, life appeared similar to any other smaller town in Indonesia.

I had the opportunity to take my first field trip since joining USAID for a short 3 day trip to Banda Aceh as we accompanied an implementing partner in conducting a survey on banking inclusion and credit access for often under served populations in Indonesia.  For this stage of the survey, we went to banks and credit unions (cooperatives) in the area to interview about their lending practices and the clients whom they serve. 

Banda Aceh's Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport

The interviews were an interesting and daunting exercise of my Indonesian language abilities.  Thankfully, I was with some good Indonesian colleagues that helped with debriefings going over the day's interviews to make sure I was able to capture everything that was discussed.  I also had the chance to discuss project implementation with the implementing partner as a sub-grantee to better understand and learn about the challenges in implementation and develop some ideas and things to consider for the future.

Following this trip, I believe I do need to definitely try to make time to get out to the field more often.  I learned much about this particularly part of the project and developed a lot of understanding on the survey's topic which can greatly help in deciding direction for where this project or future projects should target and consider.  I also learned a lot about how current development projects are implemented and have several ideas on different ways things could be done and some of the problems for how things are implemented today.  And finally, it was nice to be able to see for the first time the results of what our development projects are funding beyond the paperwork.

Below, some pictures of the places we were able to visit and sites we were able to see during the evenings.

This ship was originally used for power generation before the tsunami. The ship was dislocated 3 miles (5 km) from the ocean where it now sits.

This is a displaced fishing boat the landed on a house during the tsunami.

This is the largest mosque in Banda Aceh.

The US-Indonesia Aceh road.

Aceh Polytechnic

Aceh Polytechnic was jointly funded.  Large amounts came from Chevron and USAID.

Trying some famous Aceh coffee.

Catching Up: Work and 2-year Anniversary

Things have been busy these days. Work continues, writing and completing my second annual review (2 years now with USAID!), seeing more and more of Indonesia and Jakarta, and more. 

Working in my office, I've been learning and gaining different experiences that will serve as lessons learned and fundamentals for decisions and judgement calls to be made in the future.  This section of the post will be a bit of a stream of conscious on my impressions with work so far.  Working in the Office of Acquisition and Assistance  has been a very interesting experience and I'm really enjoying it.  There are advantages and disadvantages, of course, when comparing to other different assignments one could have, but I think the former greatly outweigh the latter.

Some particular examples of things I've enjoyed so far:

• Contracting Officers see almost all of the Mission's portfolio of the projects that are being implemented providing a good understanding and knowledge of how everything fits together and what is being accomplished.
• Great involvement in key decisions about how development projects are implemented.  Take any sort of development challenge in any area (health, democracy/human rights, environment, education, etc) and work in a team to determine a method, partner with whom, role of USAID, how to make sustainable, etc.
• Continued involvement throughout the life of the project in its implementation and progress towards results.
• Building a knowledge base and experiences that will be applicable to any project or assignment in the future.  What I mean by this is that many experience/situations and knowledge learned in this position will be applicable in future assignments.  There are an infinite number of "what-if situations" that routinely emerge and these sort of serve as case studies for decision making and problem analysis for others.

Some disadvantages:

• With large portfolios and seeing so many projects, can never have the depth of involvement and understanding that technical officers will have for a particular project.  Technical Officers will focus much of their attention on just a few projects and naturally be much more involved and know a lot more about that particular subject matter.
• Less travel and event attendance.  I wasn't sure whether to categorize this as an advantage or disadvantage because it largely depends on life circumstance and preference.  But Technical Officers spend much more time in the field doing site visits, kick-off events, or accompanying visitors when they want to see projects.  This means much more time spent traveling rather being in the office thus allowing one to see much more of the country on the government's dime, but a lot less time being home.  If you're single, this is most likely a great situation but otherwise, perhaps not as desirable. 
• Less involvement in the strategy of development programming.  In terms of  specifics of a technical area, Contracting Officers may have less to bring forward as we aren't as knowledgeable to the extent on specific areas.  Rather, we involved more in the "how" rather than the "what" in development and international cooperation.

Looking forward to work to come.  Need another 6 months at the Mission before I can become a "real" Contracting Officer which occurs upon being granted a warrant.   What this essentially means is that I will then be able to award contracts or grants on behalf of the US government at that point versus preparing the documentation and the pre-award work for a warranted officer to sign (though going through this process of preparing everything are essential responsibilities and key skills to have!).

In other news, last week noted my second year anniversary since joining USAID and the Foreign Service.  With this anniversary came my second promotion to class 4.  This now means I enter the regular cycle for annual reviews for the future and will compete among other officers at class 4 competitively for future promotions rather than being evaluated for satisfactory performance to class.

Lastly, was able to take my first field visit to Banda Aceh.  More to come on this!

A boat displayed on a house from the 2004 Tsunami in Banda Aceh

Helping Hands

The US Embassy in Jakarta has a group of Americans and FSNs (Indonesian staff) that conducts various community service events.  This organization is called Helping Hands.

Earlier this month, I was able to participate with this group in a trip to the Yayasan Bhakti Luhur orphanage in Jakarta.  This organization runs orphanages for abandoned or disabled children around Indonesia.  For this event, the Helping Hands organization was participating in a holiday party with the children.  The DCM Kristen Bauer and her husband also joined the event.

Activities for the children included face painting, singing carols, dancing, and lunch.  Oh, and also the exchange of presents!

Ms. Bauer giving a speech.

Time for presents!

Batman walking away happy.

Then there was dancing.

Always need a group photo!

Indonesian Weddings

I always enjoy weddings.  They are fun occasions with many happy people celebrating together.

In past month, I've had the opportunity to attend to two Indonesian weddings so far.  The first was a Batak wedding and the second was Sundanese wedding.

The Batak wedding was held in a two level reception area in northern Jakarta. The ethnic group Batak are originally from Northern Sumatra.  My general impression from the wedding was the emphasis on community, as if a village were coming together to all celebrate the marriage.  What was interesting was the separation between guests whom were Batak as opposed to guests whom were not.  When entering the reception venue, there were separate lines and guestbooks for "Tamu Batak" (Batak guests) and "Tamu Nasional" (all other guests).

The bottom floor of the venue also was reserved for Batak guests while other guests went to the top.  The top had a buffet and several stalls for food while the Batak guests ate traditional Batak style.  When the bride and groom entered, family and friends carried sacks off food and supplies for a wedding as if the village coming to support the wedding.

Two story venue.

Flower girls.

Traditional attire.

The community coming to the wedding.

A cow!

The bride and groom.

The Sundanese wedding I attending was very different than the Batak one.  This wedding was held in Bogor, a city just about an hour south of Jakarta.  This was a more modern style wedding with modern attire and held at a golf club.  The food there was fantastic.

Very nicely decorated venue.

There were even a couple ice sculptures in the back.

At the back of the venue, it looked like a beach resort.