Finally, a placement update!

I've been hesitant about posting about my placement proceedings on my blog after what happened last september. I was so embarassed by my failure to get a placement, and even more so by the fact that for months afterwards people were sending me emails saying, "So where are you...aren't you supposed to be away this year?" That everyone (family, friends, friends of family, etc etc) was expecting me to leave made the situation worse, as I had to explain "well, no, I'm not going. Yes, yes, it was my fault." So, I have been reluctant to talk about, or post about, my potentials for placement this upcoming year. Until now. While nothing is for certain, and I could find myself in Toronto once again come September, there are three potential spots in the works. First, I have been recommended for a placement with CUSO in Ghana- this means that the Canadian office has chosen me, but the field office and local NGO get the last word, so I am waiting to hear from them. Second, CPAR (who I've been volunteering with for the past year) has expressed an interest in sending me to work in their Ethiopian office in Addis Ababa. I've spoken with the Canadian program director and the Ethiopian country director, and the placement is contingent on them finding cheap accommodation for me and the job meeting the IDS coop's standards. Hopefully I will get more information on this possibility later this week. Third, I have been interviewed with WUSC Sri Lanka (who chose not to send me last year) and apparently they have placements for all who were interviewed.

All three placements are very interesting (though I don't have details about the WUSC one) and would certainly be a rewarding experience. Each has it's own positive aspects, and if granted all three, it would be a difficult choice between them. That said, because of my previous work with CPAR, my familiarity with their organization, the fact that Addis holds many interesting features (such as being the centre of the African Union, for example), and the fairly flexible job description, a placement with CPAR Ethiopia is my first choice. However, it is also the least certain of the three.

So, there you have a brief outline of my current placement status. Regardless of my geographic and employment status as of September 2006, I feel that I have grown tremendously as a result of my initial placement rejection. I understand my weaknesses better, I have consciously become more involved in the Toronto development community, and have spent a wonderful year in Toronto. Stay tuned for more details.

Kate