My Journey Into the UN System – Part II

My First UN Offer of Employment Letter

My first UN offer of employment letter was for the Bosnia and Herzegovina mission. Like I had read about the Rwanda crisis, I also read about what was happening in Bosnia. When I shared the news about this offer with my cousin Debbie, she told me I would be eating boiled cabbage and carrots every day (yeah, comical I know!).  But for me, I was more concerned about the frigid Eastern European climate. I declined the offer.

Good Fortune – Another UN Offer of Employment

Within weeks, I received an offer of employment letter to work for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR ) in Arusha, Tanzania.  I accepted and remembered being excited.  Ready to apply the skills I acquired as a community health worker in Burkina, my police experience and volunteer experience working with vulnerable populations in New York City. I made an appointment to meet with a representative from the Tanzanian Consulate in NYC to obtain information about Arusha.  I remember an older woman cautioning me about the men and health issues there.  I was still excited to move to the town of Arusha.

I quit my job. Unaware of the UN’s deployment timeframe, two months after signing my offer letter, I was on my way back to Africa to live for a second time.

The Wait, Excitement and Making Myself Useful

The 7-week wait was full of excitement. Friends hung out with me almost daily and I traveled to see my grandmother in Atlanta and my parents and siblings in the Midwest.  I also decided to make myself useful.  I offered my skills to help the admin office of the Abyssinian Baptist Church while I waited to be deployed.  Both Rev. Butts and his Executive Assistant, Fay Daley (R.I.P.) gladly accepted my offer.  It was five weeks of learning about church operations, being prayed for and being spiritually prepared for my move to Tanzania.

The Bait and Switch…You’re Going to Kigali, Not Arusha

Two weeks before I was to travel to Arusha, my UN recruitment officer verbally informed me there was a need for more staff in the ICTR Kigali office and I would be working in the Kigali Duty Station. I panicked!  But it was too late, I had already quit my job, purchased multi-system items, told everyone I was moving back to Africa, visited my family, and prepared myself for the unknown.

What to do, what to do!