Bongo skin

In Juba we had a staff meeting to go through various issues arising. It's necessary for us to keep some presence in the capital yet all activities are focused in the south west of the country. It's very difficult to keep up morale in staff who a manager only sees occasionally and under-utilisation is a real breeder of dissatisfaction and reticence. Most staff demands, e.g. for medical bills to be covered, can likely be accommodated but there is a need to check what we do in other country programmes across Africa. Our boss is big on parity across countries.

At Juba Airport, where there is always a concern that security personnel will be on a power trip and refuse to allow domestic travel, it was as smooth as we could have hoped. The temperature in the departure tent was extremely high and it melted chocolate I was carrying, which dripped all over my belongings. The empty, vast scenery we fly over to Yambio is always awe-inspiring to take in.

Landing in Yambio we headed straight for the Wildlife Service office, where they were displaying various confiscated animal skins, ahead of incinerating them. This bongo skin is a few years' old, and is very striking.