It really is true. There’s no other city in the world like NYC. Mexico city might have more people. Paris might have older buildings. And Tokyo might have a better subway, but all in all, none of them has the same energy like NYC. Nor its creativity. Nor the many faces drawn from all corners of the world. From Serbia to Manila (as in the case of two beautiful hostesses that we met at an upmarket bar last night). From Iran to Vietnam (as in the case of our Deputy Director, Vahid Jahangiri and myself). Or in this particular instance, from Washington DC, where Dan came up to meet with us for several meetings with our donors (and potential ones).
First stop. The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Launch yesterday at the fancy New York Marriot East Side on Lexington St. All the big guys were there: WFP, UNDP, USAID, EPA, CGI, etc… Great speeches were made and lofty goals were declared. But I will leave it up to VJ or Dan to talk more about it.
Second stop. Meeting with Charity: Water today at noon. We talked about our report submitted a few weeks ago detailing how 63 boreholes were drilled over this past year benefiting some 36,448 Ugandans, many of whom are children. They said they like our report a lot so hopefully, we will get the same financial support for our next 2010 – 2011 proposal to drill and repair another 60 boreholes, 20 of which we will work side by side with our new partner, Invisibile Children, in Gulu, an area near the border of Southern Sudan.
Third stop. Meeting with WFP and others at the Clinton Foundation at 4pm in…. Harlem. Yep. It was right there where all the Harlem action is on 125th St. And although it took us all a while to get there (thanks to the UN gathering, the traffic was horrendous), the meeting was very productive. If and when 1000 schools in Haiti get clean cookstoves next year through WFP and us, you’ll know how it all started.
Our last stop before we each went our separate ways (VJ back to Haiti, Dan off to another meeting with his litigation lawyer friends, and myself back to DC on the last train arriving at 2 in the morning!) was at an Irish bar near Times Square where over a couple of beers, we debriefed ourselves, discussed how we can move our operation forward with new and exciting projects and with a hint of regret, wondered out loud why none of us chose to stay on for a, er, fun weekend in swanky NYC.
Well, I had a perfect excuse because my first son was born only just a few weeks ago. But given that Dan and VJ aren’t married, what’s up with that? I did ask but didn’t get any answer. Oh well, at least it was worthwhile a work trip for us all.
Till next time New York.
First stop. The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Launch yesterday at the fancy New York Marriot East Side on Lexington St. All the big guys were there: WFP, UNDP, USAID, EPA, CGI, etc… Great speeches were made and lofty goals were declared. But I will leave it up to VJ or Dan to talk more about it.
Second stop. Meeting with Charity: Water today at noon. We talked about our report submitted a few weeks ago detailing how 63 boreholes were drilled over this past year benefiting some 36,448 Ugandans, many of whom are children. They said they like our report a lot so hopefully, we will get the same financial support for our next 2010 – 2011 proposal to drill and repair another 60 boreholes, 20 of which we will work side by side with our new partner, Invisibile Children, in Gulu, an area near the border of Southern Sudan.
Third stop. Meeting with WFP and others at the Clinton Foundation at 4pm in…. Harlem. Yep. It was right there where all the Harlem action is on 125th St. And although it took us all a while to get there (thanks to the UN gathering, the traffic was horrendous), the meeting was very productive. If and when 1000 schools in Haiti get clean cookstoves next year through WFP and us, you’ll know how it all started.
Our last stop before we each went our separate ways (VJ back to Haiti, Dan off to another meeting with his litigation lawyer friends, and myself back to DC on the last train arriving at 2 in the morning!) was at an Irish bar near Times Square where over a couple of beers, we debriefed ourselves, discussed how we can move our operation forward with new and exciting projects and with a hint of regret, wondered out loud why none of us chose to stay on for a, er, fun weekend in swanky NYC.
Well, I had a perfect excuse because my first son was born only just a few weeks ago. But given that Dan and VJ aren’t married, what’s up with that? I did ask but didn’t get any answer. Oh well, at least it was worthwhile a work trip for us all.
Till next time New York.
Hoi Trinh
Director of Program Development
ILF Headquarters, Washington DC
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