Moving in a different circle

I came to Luanda, Angola about a year and a half ago on a single status on a job assignment – for a new professional challenge, to make a little extra income possibly to help our younger daughter in medical school, and for a little adventure in Africa. I have definitely had plenty of challenges – trying to build a strong engineering group for my company, dealing with challenges of an underdeveloped or developing country. Angola is no doubt on a forward journey after 30 years of civil war and with abundant natural resources to be brought out from beneath the ground under the sea.

However, along the way I somehow got connected and pushed into a different circle. Being an American citizen and the head of our Angolan office, I became a regular visitor to the US Embassy. In time, previous US Ambassador to Angola Dan Mozena became a personal friend. Working with the US Embassy and the local public university (University of Agostinho Neto - UAN) I became deeply involved in bringing an English Language Specialist (ELS) in early 2010 and finally resulting in an English Language Fellow (ELF) to arrive in February 2011 for UAN. My employer being a British Company, I also got invited to the British Embassy. I attended the British Business Group (BBG) meetings regularly at the embassy. I received an invitation for a reception in honor of three Members of Parliament from the UK. Both Dan Mozena (US Ambassador) and Richard Wildash (British Ambassador) visited our office. To honor such visitors I had rolled out red carpet. By the same token I received many visitors, country managers or head of certain major oil companies at our office, gave them a tour, and made presentations, which I am sure resulted in receiving requests for proposals for certain projects. I also attended India’s Independence Day celebration on August 15, 2010 as a guest. Then on October 1, 2010 unexpectedly I also received an invitation to attend the 50th anniversary of Nigeria’s Independence Day at the Nigerian embassy. There I met many other ambassadors such as the German Ambassador, ambassador of Sweden, in addition to Richard Wildash and the Deputy Chief of Mission for the US Embassy.

So, unbeknown to me I have been moving in a circle that was not my circle previous to this. I had no idea when I took this assignment that running a small engineering company in Luanda, I would be dealing with such diplomats in an alien land. It has been challenging, educational, gratifying; above all I believe I have been able to contribute to Angola’s future, howsoever humble it may be.