I mentioned in my last post that I had been quite busy up until the beginning of October winning bi-elections, fundraising for the organization I worked with and working on a swing dance performance.
October was a hard month for me. All of the excitement that surrounded the events listed above died down and I was left with a job that often leaves something to be desired and a small social circle in KW. It also started getting cold.
When I lived in South Africa I arrived back to a Canadian winter in December 2009 and wore outdoor clothing inside for about a month while I re-acclimatized. When I came back from Uganda it was spring time so when fall came in 2012 it was the first cold temperatures I had really experienced for any duration since March of 2011 and let me tell you 10 degree day time highs were cold and I was miserable.
Fortunately by the time November came around I remembered how to dress for the weather and things started to improve.
What I've Been Doing at Work
To recap I'm currently working at Reception House Waterloo Region which is an organization that supports Government Assisted Refugees for the first year that they are in Canda with things like finding housing, getting a health card and adapting to the new culture in which they find themselves.
Working as the admin assistant as Reception House Waterloo Region is a straightforward incredibly difficult job.
What is straightforward about it is my job description. When we receive notification from Citizenship and Immigration Canada that we're receiving new clients, I open a new file, and schedule the clients' intake with their caseworker. I also work with a volunteer to help clients apply for their OHIP cards and schedule a weekly health clinic. I also answer the phones, act as a bouncer for our office and assist with things like report writing and stocktaking.
What is incredibly difficult about my job is responding to the needs and expectations of our clients and my coworkers. Working with our clients can be challenging for any number of reasons although the biggest one is that I usually don't speak the same language as they do and so it's difficult to communicate even simple messages such as that their caseworker will call them back in five minutes or to please wait in a chair. Our clients also have high expectations about what their lives are going to be like in Canada, which are not easily met. Government Assisted Refugees receive a minimal living allowance and often need to take English classes which makes it difficult if not impossible to work.
It's also difficult to manage the expectations of my coworkers and supervisors at times. Each of my colleagues has a very different way of working and prefers to carry about their business in their own way. For example, one of my colleagues frequently asks that I take messages for her even when she is in the office (because she's trying to finish written work so she doesn't want to be interrupted) whereas one of my other colleagues will interrupt his own meetings with other clients just to take a call. Everything is also constantly changing in my office ranging from new filing procedures to simply having new clients with different needs arise.
In addition to my job description described above I have also babysat, picked up dirty (and I meant dirty) toilet paper off the floor in the bathroom, managed the website and worked as a mover.
The good news is that the people I work with are amazing. They come from all over the world and have more than a wealth of experience and stories to share. In fact one of my favorite parts of my job so far has been when each of my colleagues have taken quiet opportunities to tell me about their lives before and after they came to Canada.
The best thing that has happened at work so far took place on January 16th. One of the 53 clients we received in December was a 17 year old boy from Afghanistan. When we found out his Birthday was January 16th, this bright young fellow who goes out of his way to help his mom (understatement of the year) told us that all he wanted was to have an opportunity to celebrate his Birthday for the first time. This was repeated several times and on January 16th, the boy's birthday, he showed up for our homework club and my supervisor decided our youth coordinator could buy him a cake. While the Youth Coordinator went out to by the cake I stayed and watched the homework club. Upon his return we lit the candles and brought all of the homework club participants into the room. I will never forget the look of giddy disbelief on the boy's face when we brought the cake into the room. Truly amazing.
What I've Been Doing Away From Work
Sometimes I'm lucky. In October my friend Adrian remotely put me in touch with someone from Engineers Without Borders here in Kitchener. After meeting for a coffee with Aatif I was a bit surprised to be invited to present at Waterloo's first Development Drinks discussing mineral exploitation and the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mineral exploitation in the DRC has received a relatively large amount of attention (at least as far as attention paid to the DRC in the media goes) because of the prevalence of a mineral called coltan which is used in cell phone batteries. It's extraction has continued to finance armed groups in the Eastern DRC who contribute to the continued misery of people already living in the country with the lowest Human Development Index in the World.
In general mineral exploitation has not been my area of focus. I do feel at times that the theme is used to over simplify the cause of conflict in the Eastern DRC and it's solutions, but boy was I happy to have an eager audience to discuss a conflict that I have dedicated several years of research and activism too. After my first presentation I had the opportunity to present at a shop day held by Engineers Without Borders where we brainstormed possible approaches that the organization might take to address the use of conflict minerals in electronics.
The research and presentations I did as part of my EWB adventure transitioned nicely into working on Ph.D. applications which I submitted to the University of Ottawa and the Balsillie School of International Affairs, where I'm hoping to write a thesis considering how an understanding of the relationship between armed violence and development in the Eastern DRC can contribute to the development of effective development strategies which can be incorporated into a broader peace process. I mailed the applications off before Jan 14th. I guess we'll see what happens.
Naturally I spent Christmas with my family and went to Ottawa for New Years where I had a marvelous time.
Here's a couple of pictures of my friends burying me in snow outside of parliament:
Where I hope I'm Going
Yesterday I had an interview to be a Research Assistant for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. If I happen to get the job I will have to move to Winnipeg and start another new chapter in my life.
Of course then there's the Ph.D. applications, at least one of which I am really hoping gets accepted (at this time I'm not really partial to which one).
If neither of those things work out I plan to apply to other human rights related jobs in Canada and abroad.
If all else fails I'm moving back to Ottawa. I've also discussed with several people the possibility of becoming a youtube sensation as a Rapperina, which is exactly what it sounds like.
When You'll Hear From Me Next
Hopefully soon now that I've stopped freaking out about PhD apps. I was thinking I might write something more thorough about the DRC, about refugees and maybe even about dancing.
