My journey in the humanitarian sector has ended. I am grateful for the fulfilling experiences I had at Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) – Hong Kong and the self-discoveries that convinced me to move forward.

A path to coming full circle as a broadcast journalist emerged, and I have decided to take this road. I have accepted an Executive Producer position at CNN Philippines.

I am excited and looking forward to deepen my experience as a communications professional by taking on this responsibility.

I’ll definitely miss the post-modern setup (and comfort) of working from home and the flexible working hours provided by my previous job. For the first time in more than a decade, I did not get sick for 10 consecutive months.

I’ll also miss the first-name basis culture of the organization. Imagine a workplace where you did not have to address anyone as “Ma’am” or “Sir.” It facilitates straightforward communication. I wonder if local organizations and companies can adopt this practice.

I also had time to finally finish my Master’s Thesis in Psychology, so I’m still on track to fulfilling my dream of becoming a Psychologist.

I enjoyed using my “nose for news,” among other skills, to conceptualize, write and publish media content. I discovered what else I am capable of beyond news reporting.

And I’m extremely thankful to my friends from the news industry for the indefatigable support during this time. My responsibilities have given me immense pride knowing that what I was doing is relevant to the lives of millions of people in need of medical humanitarian medical assistance. I leave grateful knowing that I made significant contribution.

However, again, it is hard to resist further professional growth.

It is perfectly all right to take a detour than stick to an earlier plan in spite of events and experiences that steer you to move on.

Journalism is an equally meaningful profession. I saw first hand how humanitarian advocacy communication counts on good journalism to call on people to act.

I’ve also learned that what really makes an occupation fulfilling are not the organizations we work for per se but the principles we are able to stand for by working in these organizations.

[Entry 282, The SubSelfie Blog]

About the Author:

Tricia Zafra returns to broadcast journalism as an Executive Producer for CNN Philippines. Formerly a Communications Officer in Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders), she spent 11 years working as a television news reporter and anchor in one of the major news networks in the Philippines. Tricia graduated with her Master’s in Psychology from the University of the Philippines-Diliman in 2019.