Putting one foot in front of the other

Today was my first sit down with the entire District Council (minus the Director and two Councillors) and I am happy with the result. Yay! I went in with low expectations and was happy to find that, although the conversation was dominated by one council member, almost everyone participated and gave some small contribution. I hope it sets the tone from here on out.

The District Councillors and I

We accomplished two major things: Firstly, they want me to work with the commune councils to get them involved with the District Council so that both of them can do their jobs better. They still seem frustrated with the lack of communication between the various facets of the District, but are also dedicated to accountability for all. They just want to do their jobs better. The little voice inside of my head is telling me not to get too excited as these things are easily said but rarely put into practice. I hope that my young self (a relative term) can get these old boys (and one lady) actively pursuing positive relationships and thinking outside of the box.

Secondly, I got to push my agenda as well! Haha. I try not to have 'an agenda' but we all do, in one way or another. Mine is not as devilish as it may sound, as my objective was to get everyone talking, speaking positively (alright, they were more negative, but in a matter-of-fact sort of way, not in the finger-wagging kind) and pushed my message that I am the resource, and VSO has very little else to offer them but me! I also emphasized that working day-to-day and advising them on matters is my main role.

Let's see how this works. I get the feeling (still) that they hope I can be a moderator between them (the District Council), the Commune Councils, the Governors, and the District Administration. We've just got to get them into that building! It's coming along nicely and (fingers crossed) we will be in there before next rainy season begins.