Yea. Napolean, the little man that couldn't, has fired me from the NGO. How awesome is that? I mean, really, how bloody awesome is that? It isn't. Damn.
The big long drama....
I go to work on 29 Jan in Eshinutsa. No biggie. On 30 Jan, I go to the office, as usual. My counterpart, M, tells me that there was a staff meeting last night, and I can't figure out what about, no one will tell me. Yea, well, no one would tell me either. Eventually, he finds out that there was a meeting to discuss my work and how I was going to be removed by PC. Napolean had written a letter to PC detailing my failings and asking for my removal. This was followed with a phone call requesting details on when I would be gone. Then the meeting with everyone but M and I. On Friday I get a call from my APCD saying, "Did you hear? You've been fired."
NO ONE except M will give me any details to this. But they all know, and they all talk about it, behind my back- no, sorry, In front of my face, in Luhya, so I don't really understand what's being said.
2 weeks pass, with no sign of Napolean, no word from him or confirmation of the "rumour". Finally, at the end of the 3rd week, he calls me in to say, "I hear you've been needing to speak to me." I say, no, YOU need to speak to ME. WTF? He spends the next 2hours lying to me about why I am being fired, lying to me about the meeting, and refusing to allow me to see the letter he wrote to the APCD, despite an earlier offer to let me read it.
Big pile of bullshit.
The reasons? There's 3: 1. I feel misplaced (true) and have no work to do in the community (not true), 2. I am completely unsupervisable (because he's a moron, and too stupid to ever call me in and ASK ME), and 3. I insist on having a day to go and buy food every week (true- because I don't have a wife who will do it for me, and it's the only way to get something other than a tiny tomato or an onion).
No, this does not mean I am leaving PC. Kibet was smarter than to suggest it to me, and I'm not ready to do it anyhow. Too bad, Kenya. I'm sticking around! It does mean I have to have a site change. My APCD is looking in to Bomet, a town south of Kisii, in the Rift Valley, with the Kalinjins. I'd be dead center between Kisumu and Nairobi, close to the Masai Mara, and in a supposedly beautiful area with a good project. Still no stima, still no maji, still no sign of civilization. I'm not excited about this, but I'm trying to look on it as a possibly positive twist of fate.
Meanwhile, the Chieves have declared I am not allowed to leave, and are searching for a new org. in the Kisa area. I really like that - makes me feel LUVD. The community is upset, and Napolean is losing a lot of respect.
Who knows how much longer this will take. I am in Kisumu this weekend to party with the PCVs and bid farewell to S, my MI girl, who got AdSepd. Bullshit, of course. (There's now only 30 of us from the original 39 who made it into Kenya.) But so much fun to be here!! I will let you know as soon as its all official. In the meantime, mail can be sent to the Nairobi address, from PST - the PO Box 30518.
Much love to you all.
Where's my damn letters?!?
1 comment:
My lingo, translated back to usable English:
1. Chieves- the way I have chosen to spell the plural of Chief, of whom I have 2, one in South and one in East Kisa. They are, essentially, a working mayor.
2. AdSepd- Administratively Separated; 'fired by the big guy'
3. MedSepd- Medically Separated; seriously ill, or it took longer than 45 days to fix
4. WackEvacd- Medicaly Separation due to craziness, or an unhealthy state of mind
5. Was there more?
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