I was standing in the Passport Control line at Kabul International Airport with my colleagues Shraddha and Brit when a woman approaches me and asks, “You look familiar.  Do I know you from somewhere?”  With her head scarf on, I did not recognize her.  But then again, there was a man on the plane from DC to Dubai who asked me twice if I was Amber and didn’t I know him?  I was thinking this was going to be some sort of trend during my stay in Afghanistan of people claiming to know me.  Plus, who would I know in the Passport Control line at Kabul International Airport?

She then asked again, “Did you work in the Middle East?”  I said yes, I was Business Volunteer as part of USAID’s Emerging Market Development Advisor Program (EMDAP) from 2008 – 2009.  Well, that was the connection.  Nicolette was a Fulbright Scholar when I was an EMDAP Advisor and then I recognized her.  Even more amazing is that she is now a first year law student at Harvard and she is going to work at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) for the summer.  Why is this astounding?  A fellow classmate from graduate school, Nader Nadery, is a Commissioner for AIHRC and that is whom Nicolette had been in contact with about this internship.  I had emailed Nader before I arrived in Afghanistan and we were planning to meet up while I was in town.  Incredible.

As the Senior Business Development and Proposal Manager for ICMA International, I am fortunate enough to have a job where no two days are alike.  I conduct business development, manage the development of proposals and lead efforts for ICMA International to utilize the Knowledge Network.  However, I also work on projects in the field and at headquarters, which is very fulfilling. Currently, I am helping to support our Afghanistan Program Management Team, which is launching two new programs: RAMP UP West and RAMP UP North.  ICMA is a subcontractor to DAI on RAMP UP, the Regional Afghan Municipalities Program for Urban Populations.  RAMP UP East, based in Kabul and working with many eastern provinces, was launched last year.  RAMP UP West will be based in Herat.  I will be supporting RAMP UP North, which will be based in Mazar e Sharif.  ICMA’s role is to build capacity among municipal officials to enable them to deliver better public services, such as trash collection, public finance, transparent budgeting and also find ways to enhance revenue for the localities.  Additionally, all RAMP UP projects will implement citizen outreach programs.  I will be in Kabul for a week and then head up to Mazar to help with recruiting and hiring local staff as well as assisting with the development of a public outreach plan.  I am excited to support our team here in Afghanistan and look forward to providing some additional updates on this important effort.