The past few weeks have been busy.  With Breakfast Meetings, trainings and a myriad of committee, sponsor and partner meetings – the CBWN plate has been rather full.

Dr. Marguerite Limagnack gives a presentation on CBWN at a Human Resources training on July 24th (provided by CBWN)

It’s been interesting to watch how something small can step by step, become gradually bigger.

For starters, CBWN’s new Hub Manager officially began work last Monday, the 2^nd of August.  Tall, charismatic, driven and brimming with ideas, Dominique Yamb Ntimba has hit the ground running – despite being the only male staff member (and the only man in our little four, sometimes five-woman-army of an office).  CBWN has also been blessed with yet another staff member, a young woman by the name of José, to help Clémence in all of her ‘Executive Secretary’ type activities and responsibilities.  And so in one week we went from a ‘President/Executive Secretary/AP Fellow’ type operation to a five-person team!

I remember on my second day here in Douala I realized I had accomplished two things: I had purchased a cell phone and acquired a small desk in a back room.  Progress.  That is one of the things I am being forced to remember here.   You must take stock of every move forward – even something seemingly as insignificant as realizing you now have FIVE whole phone numbers in your new little cell phone.

CBWN now has five whole staff members in its expanding rolodex.

Marguerite and Dominique together are quite the ‘tour de force.’  Committees have been established, chairs designated, and trainings, workshops, outreach programs and networking events a-plenty are being calendared.

Marguerite and Dominique, meeting with three Committee Chairs (not pictured) - Jose in the background

I have even had a chance to hold a few brief trainings, for staff and members alike, on the use of Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.  Video interviews, profiles and case studies are being written and finalized.  The Website is being raked over, tweaked and rebuilt, much thanks to Dominique and his expertise in this area.

Increasingly rapidly, CBWN is moving forward on the shoulders of its staff I can count on one hand, and its ever-more-involved membership.  Excited to be a part of it, albeit on the sidelines with my running commentary and attempt at capturing it all in words and photos.  Even more excited to watch it continue to grow, which it inevitably will.

Clemence, Frieda and I have fun with the 'Photo Booth' feature of my Mac - we aren't all work and no play...

Keep your eyes out for two more brief profiles to be put up this week, not to mention a few more videos…