Closing Remarks

Although I cannot wait to start my holiday (tonight!), I it is hard to believe that my assignment is finished now. I would like to give my final thoughts on my time with WFP, but I feel like I felt all the way at the beginning – don’t know where to start, don’t know how to put it in words. But I feel like I owe my readers a proper conclusion. I cannot believe that this blog has had over 2600 hits since I started it, I’ve seen on average 30 visitors per day. Mondays and Fridays are apparently good days to read my blog, views go up to about 80 on those days, one peak day even registered 170 visitors.. many thanks for your interest – and for those of you who left comments: I really enjoyed reading them and very much appreciate it.

I’ve been on the road for almost 3 months now. I visited places I only knew from news broadcasts, documentaries and books. Those scenes have come to life for me, and I know the registration that was made of that in my head will stick with me. Although I seem to have gotten used to a lot by now, I acknowledge that it is very rare for someone like me to see what I’ve seen in real life. No matter how heartbreaking it sometimes was, I have been grateful along the way to see it with my own eyes.

I’ve seen more poverty and misery than I could deal with at times. I realized – truly realized – how privileged I have been, growing up in wealth, in a loving and caring family, having a good education, and literally all the opportunities in the world.

It was a strange setting. Everyone at home thinks it is so extraordinary what I’m doing here – and so do I – but for the people I work with here, it is their daily job. The work is not without risks though. While I was here, some colleagues were kidnapped and held hostage for a few days – it was the talk of the town. I met a young German guy who works with WFP Somalia, which is headquartered in Nairobi. I met him in a bar where we were making jokes about the work and safety issues. I was impressed because he consciously goes out to this dangerous place all the time, in a rhythm of spending two weeks there and one week in Nairobi. He has a wife and a young daughter. When I saw him at the office a few days ago, he had just come back from Somalia. He told me “it’s always good to be back. At least I’ve survived another trip.”

Many people have asked me if it has made me a better person. I couldn’t say yes to that, all I know is that I am a better informed person now. Although I do not think I have mastered (or ever will master) the complete picture, I sure did learn a lot about developing economies, local and international politics, corruption, NGOs and other forms of relief, different strategies, what works and what doesn’t work and why, and of course I learned about the World Food Programme, how they work and why they work in this way.

Before I started this assignment I read a few books on related topics. One of them was Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo. One of her messages is that aid made Africa dependent on others, and if we truly want to help, we should leave the continent alone in many ways, so that people are forced to sort out their own problems. Over the last few months I have brought up her point of view in conversations with some of the most committed development workers I have met – interesting discussions I can assure you!

Many arguments can be used for and against her statement, it is a very difficult discussion. I surely do not have the answer, but one thing I learned is that aid is not always helping (e.g. some NGOs in Kenya are handing out free water purifiers in rural areas but they do not explain how to use them – in the end children use them to play soccer with), and it is not always intended to be helping either (e.g. shameless corruption, fraud that ensures donors do not notice the organization is actually not doing too much to help, etc).

On the positive side, I have seen a lot of good work too, and I have seen with my own eyes how much it is needed. I have mentioned this a number of times and I will do it again: I have gained a great respect for many of the people I met here, especially at the World Food Programme, for their passion, dedication, knowledge and for their truly amazing work. And I am glad to work for DSM. Anyone who claims that such a partnership is only a communication trick of big companies should think twice, look at the details, and meet the people who are working on it. In the end it is people who make the difference, and not all people who work in the private sector are bad and have dollar-signs reflected in their eyes – many people have the best intentions and act much more sincere than we might expect.

What is the conclusion of my assignment? Overall I am positive about the opportunities to have public-private partnerships around products like MixMe. They are complex, and they will not simply work everywhere, but I am convinced that they will within specific contexts and economies. I am recommending DSM and WFP to continue on this path and to take it to the next level – which now brings us to the critical point where firm decisions need to be made and we can move from talking and preparing to action.

In the meantime, I was glad to contribute to some important running issues along the way. People have listened, and they have acted – fast. It is rewarding for me to see for myself while I am still here that my assignment has made an impact already. I am keen to contribute more through my final reporting and overall debriefing, after my holiday.

I started this assignment with an open mind. I hoped it would be an adventure and a proper break from my normal life. It definitely was. I almost feel like I have gained a few years while skipping my birthdays. Sure it was tough at times, both physically and mentally, but it has been good fun as well. When people ask me my what my passion is, I normally tell them traveling. I actually mean anything that makes my world bigger, which can be the discovery of new music, fashion, architecture, literature, foreign cultures, but it is often easiest understood under the header traveling. In my life, I have experienced a number of events or periods that made my world a whole lot bigger than it was before, and these are the times when I thrive. I vividly remember and cherish those events. The last few months have made my world a lot bigger than it ever was before. All I can say is that I’m grateful to anyone who had a part in that, in whatever way. And for those of you who know me, you know that I keep going. So I already look forward to the next enlargement.

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