We were sitting here in the living room, having a meeting about next steps to get the hospital project moving again. It was 4 pm. We were actually more excited that Switzerland had won its first game in the World Cup, defeating favored powerhouse Spain, than we were about talking shop.
Somewhere in the middle of the discussion, we decided we needed to talk to Bargny’s assistant mayor. Paul called and five minutes later, we were on our way to his office. The meeting lasted two hours and included a review of the new drawings, the site plan and a long discussion about the community relationships, construction management, procurement and politics, which seem to be in full force…so much so that Mamadou Gueye said a committee had been formed from within the town and their sole responsibility is to deal with issues arising around the construction.
How did we get from feeling as though nothing was happening and wondering how to get things moving to feeling as though we had lost control and the project was out of our sphere of influence? Either this is a nightmare or remarkable progress. Perhaps more important, the level of information that Mamadou Gueye divulged suggests that we have a partner. He wants the hospital built. He wants to engage the community. He wants it all aspects of the project to be truly humanitarian. He wants us to proceed absolutely according to the procurement standards established by the city. He wants to introduce us to the people he knows at the corporate and community foundations in Senegal. And he wants to claim this as a victory for his party, in opposition to the current president.
Who knew our little hospital project would become so interesting?
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