A large sign greets me with 'Welcome to the land of the brave' in the arrival hall in Kabul. I have just stepped off the plane, and am wondering what the year ahead will bring.
This is my first time in Afghanistan and I'm excited and nervous, only having seen one week before the news of attacks in Kabul - just as I was telling my family that living in Kabul was no more dangerous than riding a bike into central London every day.
As I sat on the flight, I was curious to see who else would be coming to this intriguing country. There were only a few foreigners, with the bulk of the passengers Afghan families, many of whom were coming to visit family members.
The children behind me were playing 'I spy with my little eye' in English for most of the trip. Two Afghan men caught my eye and I quickly recognised that they were the owners of my local corner shop which made me realise the world really is so small! They were going home for a few weeks with their extended family to sort out business matters.
It was a long journey from London, but I was rewarded with stunning mountain views and a wonderful sunny morning as we touched down at Kabul airport.
As the only blonde person in the terminal, I am grateful for my headscarf. Immigration is remarkably efficient and after a bit of a wait for my luggage my transport whisks me off to the 'Green Zone' where the UK and many other embassies are located, as well as government ministries.
The dusty roads are jam-packed with colourful scenes of noisy traffic - cars, bikes, motorbikes and donkeys and carts - and before I can take it all in, I arrive at the DFID office.
My first impression of DFID staff is that they are a welcoming and very dedicated group of Afghans and UK staff. My job is to work on programmes that support local authorities to deliver basic services such as water and electricity to people in more remote parts of Afghanistan. This is crucial in a country where over a third of the population lives on less than 60p per day.
The population has high expectations of what basic services the government and donors can offer them and DFID is working hard to help meet them in a place which is rebuilding itself after enduring over three decades of conflict.
I have worked in DFID for seven years on a variety of roles, including working on job creation in conflict areas and providing debt relief to poor countries. Coming to Afghanistan offers me new challenges and the opportunity to make a difference.
Over the next few months I will share my impressions of Afghanistan and its people through this blog. I will be likely to see more of Kabul, as well as visit a number of provinces and districts to see the impact of our projects for myself. I am very much looking forward to gaining my own impressions of this fascinating place.
11 comments
Comment by Kate posted on
Wishing you all the best! Will be good to hear some positive news coming out of Afghanistan hopefully!
Comment by pablo davila posted on
What a great experience Christa; Land of the brave and for brave people like you always willing to give and help. Take care and enjoy
te admiro mucho
pd
Comment by kate thomas posted on
I look forward to reading your progress, it sounds very interesting already!
Kate
Comment by Simon posted on
I would be interested in your background in Local Government both educational and practical, especially given your previous roles in DFID which are in other fields.
Comment by Seb posted on
Bonne Chance Christa et bon courage! j'espere que tu t'ai vite installee et integree a l'equipe du DFID locale.
Pour un depaysement, c'est un depaysement je suppose!!!
Looking forward to hearing how you have been getting on... and getting started!
all the best
seb
Comment by Vasu Vittal posted on
May you have amazing successes as you serve the people of this land. I spent my boyhood as my father served as an indian technical and economic mission to develop Afghanistan. I hope to be back one day and serve too.
Comment by Sharif Ghourbandi posted on
Best of luck and i hope to get regular updates from you I would love to Join DFID to do rewarding work like you are doing please take care
Sharif
Comment by Helene posted on
Bonne chance in the land of the brave! j'espere que tout va bien et que tu pourras continuera nous tenir au courant de ta vie quotidienne.
Tu nous manques!
Bon courage!
Helene
Comment by David posted on
Hmm, I prefer Tripoli though...
Good luck, and continue your blog - u ll enjoy it....
hugs d
Comment by Alexandra Bolzer posted on
hey christa!
schön von dir zu lesen, dass es dir gut geht, und dass du eine interessante aufgabe hast. hoffe dennoch du verirrst dich mal wieder nach wien, würd dich gern mal wiedersehn 🙂
Comment by Sajia posted on
Dear Christa,
It is interesting to see how you feel about our country. I hope you enjoy your work with us and time here . We are really pleased having you around.
Take Care,
Sajia/GLG