Centre of Brussels, Belgium, March 2024

I've recently returned to Caracas after a week-long trip to Europe. As you may recall, I attended the European Humanitarian Forum (EHF) and also had meetings at my headquarters.
 
Despite the somewhat gloomy conversations and conclusions at the EHF, I found the meetings at my office to be constructive and uplifting. Unlike some previous HQ gatherings, there was a sense of optimism about our work and the near-term future. While we certainly face challenges—particularly concerning our inadequate budgets to address urgent humanitarian needs globally—people are displaying positivity and innovation in operating with limited resources amid vast needs.
 
I was delighted to reconnect with many friends and colleagues at the meetings, some of whom I hadn't seen in years. It was wonderful to catch up and spend quality time together.
 
Over the weekend, I managed to squeeze in two short day trips—to Luxembourg and Lille. As someone who enjoys city breaks, I was thrilled to explore a bit more.
 
If you're interested, here's a link to the photo album from my trip.
 
Looking ahead, I'll be working in Caracas for the next few weeks, focusing on advancing our humanitarian budget programming and tackling numerous work-related challenges. Hopefully, I'll be able to plan some personal time off soon. I believe it's high time I visit Mum in Poland and catch up with Amna and Tahir in Canada.

Centre of Brussels, Belgium, January 2023

I'm preparing to head to the airport to travel to Brussels. Next week, I'll be participating in the European Humanitarian Forum (EHF) and then continuing with my organisation's conference for the heads of offices (HoO) from around the world.

The EHF will bring together humanitarian practitioners, political leaders, and academics to discuss how we can bridge ongoing humanitarian needs with limited resources. Given my role, I'll be advocating for the needs in Venezuela, but I'm also very interested in learning about the management of migration crises worldwide. Globally, we're shamefully falling short in caring for the most vulnerable people, so any ideas on how to make things even slightly better are worth considering.

During the HoO meeting, we'll be focusing on challenges, standards, and peculiarities related to the work of ECHO (my own organisation). Though it's going to be incredibly busy, I'm actually looking forward to reconnecting with colleagues and friends whom I haven't seen in a long time!

The US Capitol, Washington DC, USA, March 2024

This time around, I'm writing from my hotel room in Washington DC. It's raining and grey outside, but I'm actually enjoying the weather a lot. It reminds me of Europe, and I've missed the atmosphere that this kind of weather brings. It's something you can't experience in the tropics of Venezuela, where I'm currently based.

As you may recall, I'm here in the US for professional meetings. While I've been quite busy over the past couple of days, I've had some good opportunities to get a feel for the city. I decided to walk between my hotel and the meeting venues rather than using public transportation.

I'm surprised by the US capital. I had imagined a city filled with skyscrapers like you see in many other US cities, but I've learned that they're not permitted here. As a result, the buildings aren't very tall. Some of them are still quite large, but not overly tall, which I think adds to the city's charm.

Today is my day off, as it's Saturday, so I'm planning to take the opportunity to explore the city more thoroughly. I'm determined to do so despite the rain. The forecast says it should stop raining in the afternoon, so hopefully, I won't get too wet.

I'll be leaving for Panama City tomorrow. I have meetings at my regional office on Monday, and then I'll be back in Caracas by Tuesday evening.

In mid-March, I'll be in Brussels for work, so as you can see, I can't complain about being bored.

If you're curious to see some pictures from Washington DC and Panama City, you're welcome to visit this link.