Wow, 3 weeks are over!
Fifteen members from 12 different countries got together on Oct 6, 2018 to be part of IBM Corporate Service Corps (CSC) program and work on various projects (for 4 weeks) across Five different Departments of Government of Senegal.
As we were in Week 3, each member of all the sub-teams were busy either compiling and analyzing the knowledge gained in the past 2 weeks or working on the final presentation for the closing ceremony on Nov 2, 2018 at Terrou-Bi Hotel, Dakar.
For me and the team supporting ONAS (National Office of Sanitation of Senegal), we started week 3 on a good note discussing on our earlier meeting with the Managing Director of ONAS and his focus areas…. but all of a sudden, we had a setback in the overall game plan. This did not deter us from continuing to work (took a U-turn) though we spoke on the setback few times.
On Thursday Oct 25, after 12 hours of hard work (divide and conquer), we had the initial version of the final presentation along with supporting document with details (observation, analysis and conclusion). We were unsure on how it would be received by ONAS team as we got into review on Friday morning. It was a very interactive meeting with ONAS team diving deep into details to get a better understanding of our recommendations. Finally, the ONAS team accepted our recommendations commending our work performed in 2 weeks of time. With a sigh of relief, we headed back to the hotel for our weekly Friday meeting. We knew we are now out of the woods :)
Being back on track with smiling faces, we enjoyed the last travel outside Dakar city, to Bandia Reserve Forest Park, 65 kms from Dakar. The team of 15 had great experience driving (safari) through the 3,500 hectares forest experiencing closeness with the nature and animals. To enhance the visit, we were led by a specially trained guide who is matchless in his ability to spot the animals in the thick forest.
For only the third time in the last 3 weeks, I enjoyed my vegetarian food - Salad and Pizza, at the restaurant in the forest. GREAT to end the week on a happy note and of course we will continue to tweak the final presentation for another round of review with ONAS team on Tuesday, before we share with the Managing Director on Wednesday.
This journey has been an enriching experience for me personally, professionally and spiritually..... it would be the same for my fellow colleagues. This program (CSC) has enabled me to learn more and understand people, culture (Senagalese) and their way of life.....