Changes are coming!

Exciting times, and time moving too fast

Some additional developments have taken place over the past days.

Following further clarifications from headquarters regarding policies and timelines linked to my transfer from Venezuela to Ethiopia, I have finally been able to adjust both my professional and personal movement plans for the coming months. For a while, everything felt slightly suspended, dependent on decisions still taking shape somewhere between offices and calendars. Now things have become clearer, and with clarity comes a certain calm.

All in all, it seems that I will remain here in Caracas until mid-May.

I am genuinely happy about that. These remaining months offer time to close this chapter properly, not abruptly. I hope to use this period to undertake one or two field visits within Venezuela. Plans are still forming, but I am already looking forward to travelling inside the country again, visiting projects we support, seeing firsthand how ideas written in proposals translate into real support for people and communities. Those moments in the field always reconnect me with the essence of the work.

Then May and June will unfold very differently.

For several weeks I will be largely outside Venezuela, combining holidays with some professional commitments. The journey will begin in Poland, where I will travel to pick up Mum. From there, together, we will fly to Toronto for a long-awaited visit. Finally we will be able to spend time with Tahir and Amna and meet their daughter, Hania, whose arrival already feels like part of our extended story even before we have met her in person.

During our stay in Canada, the plan is beautifully simple: together with Tahir’s family we will rent a place somewhere in the countryside, either in Ontario or Québec, not too far from Ottawa. Somewhere quieter. Somewhere surrounded by nature. A smaller place from which we can make daily excursions, explore villages and landscapes, and visit friends nearby without the pressure of large cities. The idea of shared breakfasts, walks, conversations stretching into evenings, and unhurried days already feels like a gift.

From Canada we will return briefly to Poland — almost just to change planes in Warsaw — before continuing south once again, this time to Agadir.

It will be our first journey to Morocco, and both Mum and I are genuinely excited. Although we will spend a week by the ocean, the plan is far from staying still. We want to explore Agadir itself, travel to Marrakesh, and venture into the southern landscapes — perhaps along the Atlantic coast, into small fishing villages, desert-edge scenery, and the mountains that shape that part of the country. A different continent, different colours, different rhythms.

After Morocco, we return once more to Poland. I will spend some time in Nowy Sącz, working a little, slowing down, and simply enjoying being home. Then, in mid-June, I will travel to Brussels for meetings and preparatory training that will allow a smoother transition into my future responsibilities in Addis Ababa.

From Brussels, I will return again to Venezuela for several final weeks — preparing both myself and the office for the transition ahead. Somewhere in mid-July I will travel back to Poland to take my obligatory respite leave before the next chapter begins.

And then, almost suddenly, it will be time to move to Ethiopia, with arrival planned for 1 August.

It all feels exciting. Full of movement and anticipation.

And yet, beneath that excitement sits another feeling too: time seems to be running incredibly fast. The calendar advances with a certainty that emotions rarely match. I realise more and more that I am not entirely ready to say goodbye to Venezuela. This country, and Caracas in particular, have become deeply meaningful chapters of my life — professionally demanding, personally rich, and filled with friendships that will remain long after departure.

So for now, I choose to stay present in what remains.

There are still months here. Still conversations to have, places to revisit, work to complete, journeys inside Venezuela yet to happen. And hopefully, along the way, opportunities to see many of you — somewhere between Caracas, Poland, Canada, Morocco, Brussels, or beyond.

The road ahead is already visible.

But this chapter is not finished yet.