A new chapter of life will begin far from home

It is now official and I am happy to announce that I will leave the Solomon Islands to work for the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. I have been recruited to work in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as Associate Programmer – Analyst. That will mark a new chapter in my life far from the comforts of home.

The month of June has been hectic and I have literally worked very hard at preparing all my paperwork and getting ready to make the move. I leave the Solomon Islands on the 16th of July and begin work in Geneva on the 21st of July 2010.

I first head about the UN NCRE in 2003 when a friend first informed me that they were sitting the exam in Honiara. However, I had to wait until October 2007 before getting a chance to sit for the exam. I applied for a place in the UN NCRE from a tiny little room at the Ronald MacDonald House in Brisbane, Australia. I was there with my wife for the birth of our first child. I vividly recall that that evening was uneventful and I had finally completed my share of work for the day. My wife had already gone to sleep and so to pass the time I headed downstairs to check on the latest NBA results and my emails. After answering a few emails from work, I worked on my application.

My wife and I had often talked about it and I had always seriously considered participating. But 2007 was no ordinary year; my career was moving in all the right directions, we were organizing the PacINET Conference for Honiara and our first child was on its way. When the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials promoted the exams in the Solomon Islands, I was also overseas attending an ICANN meeting in Puerto Rico. So applying for the UN NCRE was always left for some later time. I suppose my time in Brisbane allowed me to finally find the time to collect my thoughts and prepare the application for submission.

I received official notice that I had been selected to sit the UN NCRE in November. I am a great believer in understanding concepts so my preparation consisted more of role playing. Imagining different situations and how I can respond. I also studied the sample paper from the NCRE website and downloaded materials from the Internet which covered the kind of areas specified on the UN NCRE website.

I suppose the most unsettling period of my life was after my placement on the UN roster in February 2009. I remember seeing what I believed was my examination number on the list. But I was not too sure it was my number because I had quoted different numbers in my email correspondences with the UN. It was already 11:30pm in the night but I had to be absolutely certain so I drove all the way to my office to retrieve the official letter the UN had sent to me. The numbers matched and in my excitement I rushed to my parents house to tell them the news.

But between February 2009 and early 2010, the frustration finally set in and the beginning of 2010, candidates who sat the exam in 2009 were getting recruited in droves in Information Technology. I must admit there were times I felt like giving up. I began to think that it was perhaps better to focus on my current career or instead seek out opportunities to go back to school. But I held out, patiently waiting and then in May this year, I got my phone call. “Good evening Mr Wini, this is Mr David Suarez from the UN office in Geneva…” the voice at the other end said. Much to my dismay, the mobile phone was abruptly cut off and I had to wait anxiously hoping that the gentlemen would call again. The phone rang for the second time and after speaking for a few seconds, the call dropped again. The third time Mr Suarez called he managed to confirm my email address and then sent me the invitation for an interview.

I took the same approach in preparing for the interview. I read the competencies through until I was absolutely sure I understood what the job required. Then I picked real life examples of what I had done that fulfilled the competencies. Another important thing that I did was to read about how to approach job interviews. This was useful because I began to understand the bigger picture and what impact you can make by saying the right things in the right way.

My interview was not flawless but I was happy that I was honest.

The next time my mobile phone rang with the same number showing up again, I knew it was good news. For all the preparations I had made, one thing I failed to do was to prepare for the good news. I stuttered and stammered my way through the conversation but I made amends by sending an email later to confirm what I had intended to say which was to simply say that I had accepted the offer. When I drove home that day I could not resist the urge to shout and relieve myself off the pressure. The anxiety, the pressure had finally lifted and I felt free. I felt I could now focus on the challenge ahead.

Two days later, my formal offer arrived and I proceeded with fulfilling the formalities such as the medical clearance.

It has taken me over a month to finalize the formalities and serve notice to my employer, Solomon Telekom Company Limited. The tickets to travel are here and our Swiss visas have been sent. My family and I will literally start a new life in Geneva. Except for a few photos, we are traveling to Geneva without much else.

My dad often quotes from a favorite family movie we watched back in the 1990’s – A Hobo’s Christmas “Son, there are not many more christmas’s left”. The sad reality is that sometimes life is too short and as we grow older, we begin to appreciate the true value of time and treasure each moment. Distance can make it difficult to enjoy every single moment of life with those that you love so dearly. While it is a great new opportunity for me, it represents moving on in life and it makes it hard to leave behind those that are most precious to you.