In a typical for me fashion, I have changed all the immediate travel plans, I had. You may remember that I was supposed to be visiting Venezuela and Colombia soon… Providing service in crisis situation tends to be unpredictable though, and as the fires in the Amazonia have become really worrying and have affected lots of individuals and entire communities, we decided that it was more important that I travel to some of the affected parts in Bolivia, so that we could assess weather there are things that we could do to assist the people to cope with the consequences of the disaster. Things have rolled out really fast. Yesterday, we took a decision for the deployment, and I am ready to go tomorrow. The overall idea is to visit La Paz, where most of the coordination of the response to the fire happens, and then off to Santa Cruz, in the east of the country, so that I can actually experience the operations themselves. When I am in Bolivia, I will be reporting to you what I see and what is being done to immediately control the fires, but also in terms of what can be done better so that we limit the extent of similar problems in the future.

In the meanwhile, Casco Viejo, the part of Panama City where I live does not stop impressing me. The neighbourhood is very colourful. People here are of various economic, and social backgrounds. There are the wealthy ones, and those who struggle. People however do seem to support one another and are definitely friendly to each other. The vibe is good, and I love the place!

I may be excited with lots of changes in my life: new apartment, new friends, and a new city to live in, but the main reason why I am in Panama is my humanitarian service that I am meant to be providing to the communities in need in various countries of the region.

Although, I still need to get into a full swing, when it comes to work, I am already making some plans for my next work related missions.

As it seems now, I will soon (first week of September) be travelling to Venezuela, where I am going to spend some time learning about the latest situation of those, who are affected by the ongoing crisis. Right after that, I would be travelling to Bogota in Colombia, where I am going to learn a bit more on the situation of the Venezuelan refugees in the country. Finally, I am also preparing to travel to Curacao and Bonaire in the Caribbean Sea, where I am mean to be participating in the disaster simulation exercise arranged by the Civil Protection Agency of the Netherlands.

As usual, I will be sharing thoughts and my experiences, as these journeys actually take place.