Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Last days in Zim

Farewell party at NAC
My last days in Zimbabwe were pretty cool - The NAC website was officially launched, I had a going away shindig with some friends, Cam (my roommate from Mozambique) came to visit, I had a going away dinner with people from VSO and I also had a farewell thing at the National AIDS Council! All in a two day's time.

The official NAC website launch event was at the Holiday Inn - one of the main hotels in Harare, the day before I left the country :) The Minister of Health and Child Welfare was the keynote speaker and guest of honor. He was the one who officially launched the site. There were a ton of other important guests, including people from several UN agencies, NGOs and government institutions. I was given about 20 minutes to walk everyone through the different features of the website and answer any questions - it went great, they all seemed pretty happy and impressed with the result.

Going away dinner with VSO
That evening I had a going away dinner with VSO. They took me to a very nice Portuguese restaurant and we had a wonderful time. One of my VSO friends from Mozambique - Cam - was also in Harare, so he came with. It was great seeing him too. He was my roommate in Maputo when I first arrived in Africa. Later in the evening I had a going away thing with some friends at the Book Cafe and the Mannenberg. Many people came and it was awesome.

The following day (the day I left), I had a farewell party at the NAC office. I was invited into the main conference room and to my surprise everyone from the organization was there and they all started singing a farewell song :) Then everyone said a little something on how they saw I had made an impact in the organization. It was touching. At the end they gave me a nice present and we all had some delicious cake.

Great sendoff. I'll miss all the awesome friends I made in Zim.

Now I have left Zimbabwe and I've safely made it to Bulgaria. I've been busy spending time with family and friends and enjoying the beautiful Bulgarian summer.

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