Almost...

Well, as of last Friday I now have all my visas. The previous week I had gone to the Malian Embassy on the Thursday, handed over my $100 cash, all the forms, pictures, and of course, passport, and was told to come back the following morning to pick up my visa. I got to the embassy around 11 am on the Friday, only to have to wait 20 minutes as the visa still hadn't been signed. Once it was, I dashed over to the Niger embassy on the next street, as they only accepted visa applications from 9 am to 12 noon, only to discover that they didn't take cash. So then I had to sprint to the post office on the corner of Friel and Rideau to get a postal order for the $83 fee, then sprint back (in the rain) getting to the Niger embassy at 12:02. Luckily the woman was still in her office and accepted the money order. She told me to check back in 5 business days. Considering that Niger is on the Foreign affairs no-go list, I can't imagine why it should take 5 days, when Mali can do it in 1, but mine not to reason why. So, last Friday I tried to phone the Niger embassy to see if my visa was ready, but they weren't answering their phones, so I went there anyway, arriving at about 11 am. Once again, the visa hadn't been signed, so I waited fifteen minutes while they did that, then, postal order in hand, trotted over to the Burkina Faso embassy on Range Road, where they issued my visa while I waited. Only $77 this time, not counting the cost of the postal money order.

This week the only day off I have is Monday, so while I was at home preparing lunch I got a phone call from World Vision to tell me that Fatima's father had moved the family out of World Vision's area of operations, so she was no longer part of the sponsorship program. Diane Kelly from World Vision was very apologetic, but as she pointed out, they don't "own" the families. However, she has promised that I will still get to meet Fatima, to say good-bye, and we have arranged that I will sponsor another little girl from the same region, Safia, who I will get to meet also. So, although I am sorry to be losing Fatima, I will at least get to meet her, and this way I will start off my sponsorship of Safia with the major plus of having met her. I just hope Fatima will be able to continue her schooling, as she said she wanted to be a doctor or nurse when she grows up.