Not really unemployed, but still searching. So what have I been up to?

I feel like I have abandoned this blog, although I never meant to. The truth is that I was hoping that soon, I'd have great news and interesting updates to put here, advice for job searchers, exciting things related to my job. And don't get me wrong, I love my job! It's fun, I work with great people and I get to do great things. 

I was thrown into the water without having been taught how to swim literally the very first day I showed up at work. Without having any idea how things work, I was sent to a meeting on the power of 1% (of the U.S. federal funding) my first day and asked to write a blog post about it (and you can read it here). I was tasked with organizing MCHIP's presence at several conferences and believe me - at first, I didn't understand half of the things I was asked to do. However, I did everything I was asked to do and more and looking back, I realize how much I've learned in such a short time.  (Not to mention the fire in the office on my third day at work...) 

And so I have worked on coordinating MCHIP's presence at:

• The APHA Annual Meeting, where we also held a special event on the quality of care for mothers and newborns) that I helped to organize;
• That same week, we held a special event on Continuing U.S. Investments Made in Global Health: Why It Matters More Than Ever, from which I also wrote a blog post for MCHIP (read it to see what Congresswomen ended up coming to our event!).
• Then there was ICASA, mHealth Summit and more conferences coming.
• I also organized all our World AIDS Day 2011 activities. We were lucky enough to be joined by Susi Wyss who came to read her story Eggs (and whose book I highly recommend). We were also  Facing AIDS with AIDS.gov, and posted a ton of information online, including this blog post by one of our staff in South Africa.
• Which brings me to another big part of my job - social media management! That's right, I'm pretty much in charge of MCHIP's Facebook presence and Twitter account. So like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter to learn something new about global health every day. Who knows, maybe you'll be our 1000th follower? (Because that's how far I got MCHIP's Twitter! :))
• And just a couple of days ago, another blog post written by me became the blog spotlight for now.

And that's what I've been up to. My job is part-time, but there are days when I spend 11 hours there. And then I come home and look/apply for jobs because, unfortunately, my job isn't permanent and it won't sponsor my visa. So that's what my life is about. 

Support for AIDS orphans in Ghana - policy paper

"There are between 130,000 and 230,000 AIDS orphans in Ghana and their numbers are expected to grow. It is estimated that 20 to 26 percent of all orphans and other vulnerable children in Ghana have been orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. The HIV prevalence rate is relatively low (1.9 %), but the problems caused by the HIV epidemic in Ghana are exacerbated by other factors, such as stigmatization and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS and their families and urbanization and subsequent breakdown of the extended family system. Children are among the most vulnerable population groups affected by HIV/AIDS. Their quality of life declines dramatically as a result of parents (or other family members) contracting or dying of HIV."

This is the result of my research project from Ghana. A policy paper on support for AIDS orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. Feel free to read, comment, criticize, but don't use it as your own. You can read the entire paper here. 

PS: Google Documents changed the formatting slightly so if you're interested, let me know and I can send you the original copy.