It's been nearly a month in which I have been managing this project and the most challenging thing is to get used to little things which mean nothing to me but mean the world to my amazing staff.
For one thing, there is the fact that one should never open a team meeting without a prayer. This has happened once and my team suddenly turned from being positively happy to absolutely stressed and angry. I don't think it will ever happen again.
Another thing is sunscreen lotion. I don't mean to be racist, but everybody on my team is black. It is the winter, I don't even wear it. So why is it such a drama if I don't bring it to the field? I have not figured it out. In the meanwhile I keep supplying my 6 members of staff with about 2 bottles of sunscreen per week.
Pens are also very important. My team get very mad if I forget to give them a new pen every week. I am not sure what they are doing with these but if it keeps them happy...
Never underestimate the power of you trying to learn the local language. People will come and hug you, laugh with and at you and your team will worship you (until you forget the sunscreen or the pens).
Bags cause anxiety! My staff get one new bag per 6 months as they need to carry around the questionnaires and their pens. We have tried to suggest they could buy a more expensive bag which would last for longer but they wouldn't have any of it. The fear of having a broken bag and no replacement in sight is stronger than the fact that this new bag might not actually break.
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