Archive for December, 2005
The United Nations - Hierarchy? Or Not?
The United Nations has a bad reputation for being overly hierarchical and bureaucratic. I agree, but see also an alternative informal organization thriving under the camouflage of formal rules.
In his excellent book on social norms and values - The Great Disruption - Francis Fukuyama places such ’social networks’ in the context of social science [...]
Famine in Kenya
A correction to my earlier post is in order on the world’s response to the famine in Kenya. My colleague is indeed working hard to respond to this crises. The UNDP is funding an assessment, and also executing an EMOP (Emergency Operation) with the FAO and WFP. The assessment will help the UN ask for [...]
An Interesting Christmas Weekend
Christmas is not a festival to be celebrated away from home, family, and friends. Most cities slow down. Nairobi, therefore, was a pleasant surprise after Washington, DC and Geneva. One reason for all the activity was the large Indian community, out as always. Then there were the young - expats and locals - that celebrate [...]
Christmas in a time of Drought and Famine
The drought and famine in East Africa is now official. The papers here (The Standard, The Daily Nation) are full of stories and photos - of rotting cattle and pot-bellied children. If you needed proof, here’s more: Worst drought in years threatens children in Kenya.
This doesn’t mean the world knows about it, though. The New [...]
Bomb Scare at the UNDP
An interesting morning, this one. Arriving into work at 8:15am, I was not allowed near the UNDP building. Appearently, UN security received a bomb scare, indicating a bomb had been planted in the UNDP building. The few staff members that were not on vacation - perhaps 15% of the total - milled around the gardens, [...]
Drought and Ice Skating
This news probably did not make it to the headlines. Northern Kenya is in the middle of a famine. After another year of poor rains, many children in the northern ‘up-country’ are starving. The news made it to the front page of the local papers, but BBC News had no mention of it.
In a stark [...]
Malindi Day 3: Snorkeling
The flight back to Nairobi is short. 45 minutes. To my left, outside the window, Kilimanjaro is barely visible. It towers around the clouds below me, but a blanket of puffy cotton covers all but a small part of the cone.
I cannot complain. 3 hours ago I was snorkeling among starfish, swordfish, zebra fish, and [...]
Malindi Day 2: The Bottom of the Pyramid
Our 9am meeting with leaders of organized small-holder farmer groups started on time at 9.30am. Our conference room, under the shade of a large tree, was comfortable and breezy. Nearby, a goat had been freshly slaughtered. I saw it kicking its last futile kicks, staring at me at impossible angle with its throat grotesquely slit. [...]
