Skip to main content

FAQ for a leaving clinical director

Maluk Timor welcomes our new Executive Director Mrs Dillyana Ximenes in a couple of weeks.

And the questions come...

Why are you leaving?

Because I have done what I can in 4.5 years, and it's time to hand over to a team that can carry our work forward.
We arrived in Sept 2020, and have watched our team grow over the years from a scrappy little start-up to a scrappy little scale-up. 
We're leaving not because things are bad, but because things are good.

Are you leaving because you fought with someone/did something wrong/got fired?

No. See previous point and next point.

When did you make this decision?

The day we came to Timor, actually. Always start with an exit plan.

We have always been looking for leadership that can take the team forward. We talked about it again seriously in July 2024 with our team.

Are you sorry to leave Maluk Timor?

Yes. Very.
Raj and I have spent more of our married lives in Maluk Timor than in any other place. Some of my happiest memories are dancing dahur in the courtyard, side-splitting laughter in the gazebo at lunch, intense plotting in the program rooms. 
I expect to still be part of Maluk, contributing my skills, presence and connections in the ways that I do best.

Are you leaving Timor?

No. We've got our cat, our (rented) flat and my rather hard to move elliptical machine in Dili. 
Raj plans to stay in the health sector in Timor, and I will be shifting gears to work for a season in language studies (also in Timor).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Lists.

What have I been doing in the 3 months since my last update? Making lists and sometimes tearing them up. I have a list of "To do today" items, quite standard. It hasn't moved very much in the last 2 weeks. Mundane things: triage emails, edit policies, plan teaching sessions.  I have a list of "Deep work" items/projectettes that require focused attention: my Med Ed essay, my Moore essay, a research paper I'm trying to write with Dr M, Chinese+Mandarin revision, Tetun study, core skills in Medicine. I have a list of "Dashboard" items that represent the things I'm responsible for or have things to do with: Research Staff Health Education/Training Volunteers Email M&E (Monitoring & Evaluation) Translation Emails Communications and Social Media People (Relationships) That's just for work. I have a more general list that captures the bigger categories: Bible Journal Exercise Work People (Relationships) Home Medicine I used to have a list ...

A story, recapped

Almost five years ago, Raj and I masked up, packed our surge protectors, and took a World Food Programme special flight into Dili, Timor-Leste. We started as volunteers in Maluk Timor, a local nonprofit established to strengthen Timor-Leste's primary care system by partnering with the Ministry of Health. We had the luxury of a long overlap with MT's founders Drs Jeremy and Bethany Beckett, and 8 months later we stepped up to the task of leading this organisation --I, at least, had not a clue as to the drama and delight that the next few years would hold. Now as I shift gears into a season of quieter work and language study, the memories of these years tumble over each other like pebbles down a waterfall, a jumble of laughter and tears and pride and regret. During my time, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some of the most committed health professionals I’ve ever met, both in Timor-Leste's Ministry of Health and within my own organisation. Together with the Ministr...