I Spent a Week in the Highlands. This Happened!

In my last article I reflect back to my five years in the Philippines. This is a continuation of my professional journey series as in the conclusion of the last article I revealed that I am seeking for employment opportunities. It has been a couple of months since graduation and just like any other graduating student, my focus slowly shifted to finding “what was the next step in my professional ladder” Now I am in Nairobi, Kenya and I am excited to share with you how my transition back home has been and what effect it has had in my job hunt.  

Quick reminders for those interested in attending the 8th Oil and Gas Africa 2019 International Trade Exhibition and , in KICC, Nairobi, please register. Its free! And perhaps we can meet and talk about the direction the industry is heading towards and I can share why I think East and South Africa is drawing the global attention when we talk about hydrocarbons. Here in a link to find more about the Conference: https://www.expogr.com/kenyaoil/ 

For my counterparts in Tanzania, you may want to check out the 5th Oil and Gas Africa 2019 International Trade Exhibition and Conference, in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania on November, 2019. Here is a link for your free registration: https://www.expogr.com/tanzania/oilgas/.  

Finally, I am seeking sponsorship for the Africa Oil Week 2019 in Cape Town. It attracts the entire value chain, including: governments, NOCs, international oil companies, independents, investors and service providers. They come to set out the future direction of the continent’s upstream oil and gas sector, secure major deals, forge lucrative new partnerships and take part in bidding rounds held by the largest gathering of African energy ministers. You get the idea. Any enthusiast in the oil and gas industry would not want to miss out this event. To find more information about this event please visit: https://africa-oilweek.com/Home. If you think you might be able to help get me there, please don’t hesitate to let me know. For a better understanding of my professional background check my resume on: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fMXDRH7lgxKCaYNRNuaNdYe9LaMcd76u or my linked in profile   www.dhirubhai.net/in/georgeyabesh. 

 My arrival in Nairobi was with lots of excitement for reconnecting with my family after five years of absence. I immediately went back to our Village Mochenwa, where my dad and mom live and where we grew up. This is the cold season and it is very windy. I had to adjust to the ‘new' environment. I spent the week in my home with dad and mom. I visited my dad's subsistence farm and helped around where I could.  

You may be asking, why did I do this? Well I have my own reasons and I'm happy to share. After my graduation back in April, I with the help of my dad decided to pursue NEBOSH IOG1 and ISO 45001 courses. If you are familiar with these training, you already realize the pressure the two bring along. I will address my motivation to pursue these in a separate article soon. Post-graduation for many fresh graduates is all about taking a break and “opening the pressure release valve”. With this pressure and that brought about by multiple job applications that were not bearing any fruits, I started becoming depressed. I recall calling my mom and expressing to her how much stress I was undergoing through the period and she would laugh and say, ‘trust the system son, God’s timing is the best timing”. These simple words kept me going through until I finished. Therefore, coming back home to me was quite significant. I saw this as the start of a new page. So, a get away from everything seemed like the right thing to do and today I can testify that it has been quite helpful in getting me into the right mindset to go back to the job hunt and trying to achieve my desire to being part of the solution to global energy problems.   

Mental health takes into account emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how someone thinks, feels, and acts. This is why it is essential that we take care of this vital part of our life. Psychological experts encourage people to take breaks because it; Reduces stress, improves creativity and productivity and increases general happiness. Today, I feel rejuvenated and I can continue performing well in my endeavors. Need a break? Take one and you will be thankful you did!