UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund... "wait, that can't be right?"
Greetings from Cairo!
Here I am, working at my dream organization, in none other than the "om el donya" -Motherland of the World. My apartment is a 15 walk to the Nile River and the Great Pyramid of Giza is 20km away. [My inner 7th-grade-world-history-nerd self is still having a hard time processing through it!] And to top it off, I have been fortunate enough to enter my home for the next 3 months during the month of Ramadan.
For those of you not familiar with the observation of Ramadan, I would highly recommend you to research it. In the most basic explanation possible: Ramadan is an Islamic pillar of fasting for 30 days in celebration of Muhammed's revelation of the Quran. Those who observe Ramadan fast during the hours of dawn (usually around 3am, but changes everyday) until about 7pm. Around 7pm, a prayer is done and the daily fast is broken with the Iftar feast. Most observers are up throughout the night celebrating in feast with their families and/or friends. Then, there is a pre-dawn meal before the fast begins for the following day called Suhoor. A crescent moon marks the end of the observation in a celebration called Eid. Eid is set happen this upcoming weekend, so you can imagine how beautiful the moons have been. I have been very lucky to share Iftar with some of my new friends here in Egypt, learning so much about the culture through food, coffee, shisha, and conversation. [We did break fast one night with eggplant parmesan because I could not resist using some of the basil from the massive bushes, growing wild outside my apartment!] I will be sure to get a few pictures of the lanterns to share before Ramadan ends this weekend!
A little about my work:
UNFPA | United Nations Population Fund
"UNFPA is the United Nations reproductive health and rights agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled." (UNFPA website)
UNFPA works in the 4 main pillars of:
1. Sexual Reproductive Health
2. Young People
3. Gender Equality & Human Rights
4. Population Matters
As you can imagine, there is so much done in each of these 4 main topic areas!
I have been stationed in the Country Office at UNFPA in Cairo. I am officially working on the Youth, Peace & Security team but have been recruited to work on projects with varying topics during my stay. The UNFPA building here shares space with UNAIDS and UNFPA Regional Office as well. What is the difference between Country and Regional? UNFPA Country Office works specifically on matters within the country of Egypt where the Regional Office oversees the 4 pillar areas for the countries of: Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Lebanon, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
So far I have been working with the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Child Marriage, and Gender Based Violence (GBV) specialists to develop a potential joint project in Egypt with UNICEF (United Nations Children Fund). It has been really amazing to assist in the development of log frames and proposals for the agency, using the experience I have gained in my first year of studies at Columbia. It is an exciting prospect to see that my ideas will be part of a national proposal instead of just being turned in for a class grade. It is funny how thankful you are to the tedious homework assignments when you realize the professors equipped you with a very useful skill!
I am really looking forward to my time here at UNFPA and for the many activities in the pipeline throughout the summer. I have started arabic classes and am hoping to gain some knowledge of this beautiful language before I depart in August (and I hope someday soon I stop trying to speak Spanish accidentally to taxi drivers, waiters, and the sweet old man who sells me water down the street)!
 |
| "Molokhia": a traditional Egyptian dish |
For those of you not familiar with the observation of Ramadan, I would highly recommend you to research it. In the most basic explanation possible: Ramadan is an Islamic pillar of fasting for 30 days in celebration of Muhammed's revelation of the Quran. Those who observe Ramadan fast during the hours of dawn (usually around 3am, but changes everyday) until about 7pm. Around 7pm, a prayer is done and the daily fast is broken with the Iftar feast. Most observers are up throughout the night celebrating in feast with their families and/or friends. Then, there is a pre-dawn meal before the fast begins for the following day called Suhoor. A crescent moon marks the end of the observation in a celebration called Eid. Eid is set happen this upcoming weekend, so you can imagine how beautiful the moons have been. I have been very lucky to share Iftar with some of my new friends here in Egypt, learning so much about the culture through food, coffee, shisha, and conversation. [We did break fast one night with eggplant parmesan because I could not resist using some of the basil from the massive bushes, growing wild outside my apartment!] I will be sure to get a few pictures of the lanterns to share before Ramadan ends this weekend!
A little about my work:
UNFPA | United Nations Population Fund"UNFPA is the United Nations reproductive health and rights agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled." (UNFPA website)
UNFPA works in the 4 main pillars of:
1. Sexual Reproductive Health
2. Young People
3. Gender Equality & Human Rights
4. Population Matters
As you can imagine, there is so much done in each of these 4 main topic areas!
I have been stationed in the Country Office at UNFPA in Cairo. I am officially working on the Youth, Peace & Security team but have been recruited to work on projects with varying topics during my stay. The UNFPA building here shares space with UNAIDS and UNFPA Regional Office as well. What is the difference between Country and Regional? UNFPA Country Office works specifically on matters within the country of Egypt where the Regional Office oversees the 4 pillar areas for the countries of: Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Lebanon, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
So far I have been working with the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Child Marriage, and Gender Based Violence (GBV) specialists to develop a potential joint project in Egypt with UNICEF (United Nations Children Fund). It has been really amazing to assist in the development of log frames and proposals for the agency, using the experience I have gained in my first year of studies at Columbia. It is an exciting prospect to see that my ideas will be part of a national proposal instead of just being turned in for a class grade. It is funny how thankful you are to the tedious homework assignments when you realize the professors equipped you with a very useful skill!
I am really looking forward to my time here at UNFPA and for the many activities in the pipeline throughout the summer. I have started arabic classes and am hoping to gain some knowledge of this beautiful language before I depart in August (and I hope someday soon I stop trying to speak Spanish accidentally to taxi drivers, waiters, and the sweet old man who sells me water down the street)!
Comments
Post a Comment