"Don't just do something. Stand there and think."

That's the "aid worker's adage" from a book I'm reading. Just read it this morning, and it's uncomfortable, but definitely the motto of this week.
Last week had momentum: our partners made commitments, and meetings took on an optimistic tone of progress. This week, all of that is under threat of stagnation -- perhaps the most devastating of all forms of corruption.
I felt the full wisdom of this adage yesterday as I felt like I was dragging a stubborn toddler through a department store. But I was in the Health Ministry, trying to get a couple of ringleaders to quit dragging their feet (and leading by example). On the usual day-to-day stuff, fine -- take time. It's Africa. But when it's important, when it's kids that are suffering, MOVE!
I had to check myself, though -- I had to realize I'm going away in a little over two weeks, and this world will keep spinning when I get on that plane. These people will still have their (unpaid) government jobs, and they'll keep on working according to how much they're getting paid. So. Is it a good use of my energy to push the rock up the hill, or better to tell the mountain to jump? The latter. The mustardseed.

Today, the frustrations.
Tomorrow I'll tell you about the joys.