Unterwegs...
The nomadic life of Mara & Raf
Kyiv, Ukraine
- Mara
- September 7, 2023
- #Humanitarian, #War
It took an 18 hour train ride from Chişinău, the capital of Moldova, to get to Kyiv in Ukraine. The strict security measures make the trip there longer (not to mention the missed flight connection and resulting overnight stay in Istanbul). But it was worth it! Together with my colleagues Richard and Ivor, I visited Kyiv to meet up with our Ukrainian Salvation Army leaders and other humanitarian stakeholders including UNHCR, IOM and the…
Kettering, UK
- Mara & Raf
- August 27, 2023
- #Issues, #OutOfOffice
Often it feels like there just aren’t enough people in the world who care deeply about justice and equality, who want to explore faith in an open-ended way, who want to look after the environment or who want to live life in full colour. But when we share in…
De Bult, The Netherlands
- Mara & Raf
- August 1, 2023
- #FamilyFriends, #OutOfOffice
We tried to get together in the Netherlands in 2020 and then in 2021, but failed due to Covid restrictions in both years. This time, there was no stopping us. We met up with Raf’s parents, brothers and sisters, as well as all of the nephews and nieces on…
Tbilisi, Georgia
- Mara
- June 30, 2023
- #Humanitarian, #War
Georgia is both a destination and a transit country for displaced people from Ukraine. Over 25,000 Ukrainians are currently registered in Georgia. The motivation and reasons among Ukrainians for choosing Georgia as a destination country include the social and cultural similarities between Ukraine and Georgia, the geopolitical and geographical…
London, UK
- Mara
- June 25, 2023
- #Arts, #FamilyFriends
Together with my sister Noemi I enjoyed a fantastic performance by non other than P!NK who captivated and entertained the excited audience (including us), singing her great hits and having fun interacting with people in the audience. Supported by her background singers, highly talented dancers and trampolinists as well…
Tara National Park, Serbia
- Mara & Raf
- June 24, 2023
- #OutOfOffice
In Serbia, we spent two nights in a cabin in Tara National Park. Among other things, the less than useful answers we got from the lady at the tourist information centre gave us the sense that not so many foreigners come here. We spent a lovely afternoon kayaking on…
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Mara & Raf
- June 21, 2023
- #OutOfOffice
When we had crossed the border from Croatia into Bosnia and Herzegovina, it became clear that we were now in a slightly more rugged place outside of the EU. The roads had more potholes, but took us through some of the most spectacular scenery as we drove through the…
Plitvice National Park, Croatia
- Mara & Raf
- June 19, 2023
- #OutOfOffice
Plenty of our friends had recommended Croatia as a great place to visit, and the country didn’t disappoint. After our rail journey to Zagreb, we rented a car and drove south towards Dubrovnik with a number of stops along the way. The first place to see was Plitvice National…
Stuttgart, Germany
- Mara & Raf
- June 10, 2023
- #OutOfOffice
It’s maybe a little bit shallow, but one of the things we first ask ourselves when we think about possible holidays abroad is if the trip will earn us any new ‘country points’, to experience something we haven’t seen before. This led us to plan a trip to the…
Hemel Hempstead
- Mara & Raf
- June 4, 2023
- #FamilyFriends, #Home
This spring brought us a few regular events such as the wonderfully crazy and extravagant Eurovision song contest. We also had a street party because of the new king, a fantastic 15 km long sisters hike, and the Salvation Army’s High Council where a new General (the global leader…
Zürich, Switzerland
- Mara
- May 11, 2023
- #Training
Once a year, the main Development (Supporting) Offices of the Salvation Army meet to discuss emerging topics and issues relevant for our development and humanitarian work. This year’s meeting took place in Zürich and apart from some good discussions about decolonisation and social justice, it was lovely catching up…
Hemel Hempstead
- Mara & Raf
- April 25, 2023
- #FamilyFriends, #Home
The first few months of 2023 have kept us busy with a number of short trips for Mara (see separate posts) and work at university for Raf as usual, but in between we’ve had lovely times with friends, food, football and other little moments of joy….
Dallas, Texas, USA
- Mara
- April 21, 2023
- #Training
My IES team (International Emergency Services) together with the US Development team (SAWSO) of the Salvation Army recently facilitated the Global Forum on Displacement in Dallas. The forum was planned as a global addition to the (much bigger) ‘Better Together Conference’ organised by the US with 1800 people from The…
- Mara & Raf
- April 10, 2023
- #FamilyFriends, #OutOfOffice
The concept of ‘home’ is a bit fluid for us, but being in Ruit, where Mara grew up, certainly feels like being at home as much as any other place on the planet. We had a good time with the family over the Easter weekend and already look forward…
Bucharest, Romania
Delegates from Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Georgia and Bulgaria participated in a special training programme in Bucharest, which was facilitated by our team. Some of the content of the training sessions was similar to that of previous training courses focussing on disaster and conflict preparedness and response, but this time…
Seoul, Korea
- Mara
- March 5, 2023
- #Humanitarian, #Training
With many countries in the so-called ‘Ring of Fire’, the South Pacific and East Asia region is home to many of the most disaster prone countries in the world. With this in mind, the Salvation Army leaders of of the countries in this zone wanted to discuss how the…
Prague, Czech Republic
- Mara
- January 29, 2023
- #FamilyFriends, #OutOfOffice, #Training, #War
From Wednesday to Friday I attended a Ukraine Response MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning) in Prague with colleagues from Ukraine and several neighbouring countries as well as various international development offices. As a little bonus, Rebsi and Anetti joined me on Friday and we spent a wonderful weekend…
Sindh, Pakistan
- Mara
- January 17, 2023
- #Humanitarian
Six months after last year’s floods started in Pakistan, I went on a monitoring and support visit to discuss potential recovery activities. This is how the government summarised the difficult situation in a post-disaster needs assessment: “Between June and August 2022, torrential rains and a combination of riverine, urban,…
Cape Town
- Mara & Raf
- January 1, 2023
- #FamilyFriends, #OutOfOffice
The last time we were in Cape Town in December was eight years ago, so it feels special to be able to celebrate Christmas with Raf’s family this year. The focus of the trip has been to connect with family and friends, and as it’s summertime in South Africa…
Hemel Hempstead
- Mara & Raf
- December 20, 2022
- #FamilyFriends
Snow in England means slippery and muddy footpaths, unpredictable traffic, disrupted public transport and generally cold weather. But, of course, it’s also beautiful when everything is covered in white and it’s a fun time to take pictures outside. Here are some of the photos we took, as well as…
Lagos, Nigeria
- Mara
- December 6, 2022
- #Humanitarian, #Training
Inspired by the peace building efforts in Kenya (see here) the Salvation Army in Nigeria also started peace building activities for the months leading to the elections in February 2023. The programme started with a workshop for 30 delegates from across the country. We explored the root causes of…