Wondering Nomads

The start of 2017 turned out to be different than we thought. On the brink of the new year, between Christmas and new years eve, we applied for two functions for Medair in South Sudan. Two days later we heard the great news that the jobs were offered to us. It still feels unrealistic but starting the 27th of February 2017 we will be WASH Project Manager Emergency Response Team (Annegreet) and Deputy Logistics Manager (Bouke Pieter).

This moment will be a turning point in our short careers and lives all the same. We change our location of residence, job, employer, climate, working language, diet, security and colleagues (we will be each others) completely. And we’re not sure how it will turn out, but we’re looking forward to the adventure. Living in remote places, exploring new cultures, working and living with an international team, being in a crisis situation, not knowing what will happen, changing of plans, stepping out of our comfort zone and looking beyond borders.

Not only the adventure draws us but also the kind of work. Medair is a humanitarian organisation and seeks inspired by Christian faith to relieve human suffering in some of the world’s most remote and devastated places. They bring relief and recovery to people in crisis, regardless of race, creed or nationality. And that’s where we long for as well. Our hearts break when we see all the misery and disasters in our world and it feels impossible to just sit on our couch and enjoy our lives in the Netherlands without doing anything about it. That’s why we are really thrilled to get this opportunity to try to make a difference. Even though we know it will cost (part of) our security, comfort, freedom and ice skating opportunities. In the end we will also receive a lot in the kinds of love, adventure, team-life and worthwhile experiences.

We hope to start with an open and eager to learn attitude, so we and the people around us will be able to love each other, accept and forgive each others and own failures and work together with a focus on the other. We want to see people who despite (cultural) differences, are enjoying life and care for each other and the earth, with authenticity and compassion and thereby make the earth a little more beautifull than we found it.

Every once in a while we will post something on this blog to keep you guys updated on how we are and what we do. Plans on frequency, medium and length are not fixed, and will also depend on the internet in the field. If you want to make sure you don’t miss any new posts you can subscribe yourself by clicking on ‘follow’ at the right bottom corner and leave your e-mail address (you don’t need a wordpress account, and the e-mail address will only be used to sent you an email when a new post is made). If you miss something, would like to know more or put a heart below our belt ;), send us a message, via the channels you prefer! We would also like to know how you are doing (even though we don’t always communicate it).