Unbalanced

A triple whammy of issues tried to thwart our work in South Sudan, which I had to track from the other end of the continent.

Project partners heading in had to return to Addis Ababa due to a plane fault. When they arrived they found our compound in Juba had a failed solar system and therefore no power. Disastrous not to be able to use a fan in the high 30s. In Yambio our key counterpart was detained overnight by the army, for no tangible reason whatsoever.

In Liberia our struggles felt tough enough (40 minutes to start an interview with a very promising Stage 2 candidate based in Nigeria, due to phone line and internet woes), yet these paled into comparison.

Somewhere like Monrovia it can be hard as a visitor to eat well, especially as I'm generally poor at prioritising this anyway. A balanced diet usually plays fourth fiddle to work, socialising and yoga. So to counter an evening of stale flatbread with a smearing of peanut butter, I did some handstands against the wall and worked up a sweat. Health and balance restored. No?