From Obscurity to Clarity: School, Down Time, and the Philippines

I returned to America after 3 years in Africa without a plan. It was an intentional move; I chose to, for the first time in my life, focus on the present without worrying about the future. And predictably, it took me a little while to find my footing upon my return.

But over the past three months, I have finally charted what I hope will be a rewarding path for myself. My first decision was to attend graduate school, obtaining a Master's of Public Administration (or equivalent) focused on international development.

Graduate school will allow me to bind together my prior educational, professional, and international experiences and direct them towards my field of choice. I just finished applying to several graduate schools across the East Coast for enrollment next Fall. But given this decision, I still found myself with a large gap to fill.

I continued to apply for jobs both domestically and abroad, and eventually faced a choice between a civil engineering position in New York City and a disaster management position in the Philippines. With some great advice from people currently in the development field, I opted for the latter.

Unless you've been living under a rock (I don't judge, that was me just a little while ago!), the first thing that surely comes to mind at the mention of the Philippines is the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan. Interestingly, I accepted this position on November 6th. The category five storm hit the island nation two days thereafter.

I will serve as a Disaster Risk Reduction Program Specialist in the Municipality of Rosario, Northern Samar Province. I will be working with government staff who have faced challenges in implementing their local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan due to a lack of technical and financial support.

My assignment entails completing the following:

1. Enhancement of the municipality’s 5-Year Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan
2. Prepared digitized hazard maps for each barangay
3. Enhancement of training module for community disaster preparedness and mitigation
4. Conducted training with DRRMO staff and barangay volunteers on disaster preparedness and mitigation.

As you can see, my assignment primarily involves work in preparation for a disaster, so I am unlikely to work directly on any relief efforts from Haiyan. Nevertheless, this typhoon serves to reinforce the necessity of this type of work. The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, suffering from a constant barrage of natural disasters including landslides, earthquakes, and an average of 19 typhoons each year.

I was slated to begin work in January, but unfortunately my departure date has been pushed back to February due to administrative issues. In the meantime, I've been spending time with friends and family here stateside.

I have also booked a trip back to my village in Mali to visit my friends there for the first time since my evacuation in April 2012. With my impending schedule appearing full for quite some time, given my job in the Philippines and graduate school, now just feels like the right time. And given the haste with which we had to leave then, I am so stoked to see everyone there again. I will be staying for about 4 weeks before returning home prior to the Philippines.

It has been hard adjusting to life after Peace Corps. But that had more to do with the uncertainty surrounding me than anything else. Now I again have a plan, steering me towards the life and career I hope to lead, and I am very excited to continue moving forward.