learning Acronym

Alert: this is a nerdy blog entry. I couldn't help it. I will post more soon about the goings-on of the past few days (there's been a lot going on!) but here is a portion of my world here that I wanted you to know about.

When I came here, I knew I would be expected to speak French at times. What I didn't anticipate, however, was how much I would end up speaking a language I never heard of till I got here: Acronym.

I have had to learn quickly that Acronym is the only way to get by in the world of non-govt organizations (NGOs). Every organization here goes by an acronym. My theory about why they do this is because NGOs are forever writing documents (ironically these are acronym-named documents), such as detailed implementation plans (DIPs) and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and terms of reference documents (TORs), and NGOs get tired of writing their full name over and over in these documents, ad nauseum.

So World Relief in Rwanda is WRR: World Vision is WV; Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Program is CHAMP; Food for the Hungry is FHI (the "I" being for "International"). Etc., etc. It's not a bad plan, and it's convenient for most people. However, contrary to the popular saying, it's not WHO you know here, it's whether you know their acronym.

Further, to give you an idea of how confused my head can get sometimes, the child survival program (CSP) that I work with at WRR is actually called the EIP (Expanded Impact Project)...not to be confused with the EPI, the Expanded Program of Immunization (a Rwandan vaccination program). Besides doing general work in the context of C-IMCI (Community-based Integrated Management of Childhood Illness, which more frequently goes by its French acronym, PCME-C, Prise en charge des Maladies d'Enfants dans la Communauté), WRR is partnering with CW (Concern Worldwide) and IRC (the International Rescue Committee) to help implement HBM (Home-Based Management) in the context of the PMI (President's Malaria Initiative), using PNILP (another French acronym, no less, Programme Nationale Integrée de Lutte contre le Paludisme, or in other words, the National Integrated Malaria Control Program, or NIMCP).

And on it goes! I am not sure a day goes by when I don't ask Melene or somebody, What does (insert-acronym-of-choice) mean again?

One last thing on this topic: in some ways, I am oddly comforted by speaking Acronym because I realized this week I speak it at home, particularly with close girl friends. If you know what GS, YL, RR, ATL or DL is, you speak Acronym! (If you don't know what they mean, shoot me an email, and I'll fill you in.) Talk to you soon! :)