I always like to try and slip away quietly when I am leaving people, but of course I couldn’t do that here. I felt sad and I didn’t want to say goodbye. I had to leave people I had become close to and it’s not likely they’ll stop by New York any time to have dinner. It’s difficult.
The person I will miss the most is my driver, Ahmed. He is in his early 30s, with a wife and five children. We spent so much time together, and we’d get tired of each other and crabby with each other—then we’d be so happy to see each other again. We were like an old married couple.
He still calls me every week just to say hello. We don’t have much to say, but we miss each other.
It was also hard saying goodbye to the cold chain guys. They worked so hard, and they have so much experience, but jobs are hard to come by for them and it was difficult to think that they would probably now be unemployed.
I took a break back in Ethiopia after the meningitis campaign. I stayed in Addis Ababa and went swimming in the nearby lake, and saw people from my last assignment.
I would definitely do this kind of vaccination campaign again because vaccination is so effective. But for now, I am off to Sri Lanka. And when I am done, I will be sure to take a good break before my next assignment!