The "far" East - Washington DC and NC

My short trip to Washington DC and Wake Forest NC was wonderful. I think that the weather which should have been in San Diego followed me. Had a great time with my forever friend Sue DeWine, her daughter Leigh Anne, and LA's friend David Roth. If you have not been to the American Indian Museum, it is wonderful and a superb food court with ethnic food.

Then to Wake Forest NC and a visit with Richard and Lyailya Lewis. He was my "boss' during all the assignments in Bulgaria. A lovely part of the state which I had not visited before.

Home now for a week.

Rain in San Diego?

Home safely after 31+ travel hours. It is a long trip. No "ghosts" on any of the three flights but slept well from JoBurg to Atlanta. Our flight was delayed into the US (headwinds) but Delta Airlines did a great job! I ran to the connection and my checked bag was expediated - so the bag and I arrived together in San Diego.

Off to Washington DC and Wake Forest NC on Thursday. Angola is potentially my next Africa trip in late February.

Good by Malawi

My hostess, Nellie and her gift of an apron with Malawi to me! The owner of Naturals, Towera and Malawi fabric. And the debriefing by CNFA Project Coordiator Quirino. I leave tomorrow for JoBurg and then Atlanta and San Diego.

Blantyre Presbyterian Church

A magnificant structure built by the Scots! Lots of ornate stained glass windows and a crucifix with a Christ. Very different from our Presbyterian churches now.

The Anglican Church which I attended was much plainer.

Baobab 101

The Production crew at naturals.m The tree is pictured on an earlier blog. The fruit is below; juice is made from the segments inside which create a powder. It is then cooked, cooled, sugar added and bottled. A very hard manual process. All of the ladies have arm muscles that Michelle Obama would envy! The lady in light blue is Towera Jalakasi is founder, owner and general manager. Two locations with over 20 employees!

Can you say football?

It is now Tuesday afternoon. The whole country is celebrating as the Malawi football (soccer) team defeated Algeria yesterday afternoon. It was unexpected! 3-0! The African Cup matches are being played in Angola; as you may have heard, the team from Togo was fired upon and 3 of the staff are dead. That team withdrew from the tournament. A sad event which makes FIFA in South Africa in the Spring somewhat tarnished.

The weekend was great. There is another volunteer here – George Kegode – an ag prof from Northwest Missouri State University. He is originally from Kenya and says he is a “weed man.” We walked all over and he collected weeds. There was a good internet café in town which we used both days. On the walk back, into a bar which said ‘slots”. But alas, no such items – just good beer and pool to watch. Saturday night was goat curry and wonderful.

Went to an Anglican Church with my hostess, Nellie at 7:30am. I could follow along but some difference from All Saints Episcopal in San Diego. The biggest was a hymnal that had only words, no music. Even on the hymns I knew the notes were different. I was asked to stand as a visitor but I think everyone knew already!

I am reading a lot and hope that I will not run out of books as I am in the next to the last. Nellie is thrilled to have my cast offs. The TV is on football constantly as James (husband of Nellie) and George are enthusiastic followers of many clubs.

The weather has been glorious for me – I will repeat, it is like Maui. However, it is very bad for the farmers as this is supposed to be the rainy season. In church, there was a very specific prayer for rain! It is still quite warm (80’s), blue sky and sunshine. I wouldn’t mind rain at night.

I have 90% of the project completed and will finish on schedule by tomorrow. This has been much more like a consulting assignment versus my training in Mozambique.

So adieu for now and hoping that all of you are having a glorious beginning to 2010!

Could this be Maui?

Greetings from the top of the tallest building in Blantyre Malawi! As I look out the window on Friday morning it is almost like Maui. The area that I am in has the same tropical, mountain feel with palms and trees. Flowers are everywhere.

The company that I am working with is Naturals. Started by Towera Jalakasi several years ago, it produces juice from the “powder” which surrounds the seeds of the Baobab tree. The process is 90% manual labor so the two locations employ more than 15 people in production, sales and distribution. It has grown very rapidly and recently was the recipient of a grant. It is Towera’s vision that the local villages can use the seeds (which are a by product of her process) to produce an oil; it is especially suitable for cosmetics and soap. There are two locations for Naturals – Lilongwe and Blantyre. My project was to work with her to create the Human Resource function: Personnel Policy Manual, Job Descriptions, Employment Contracts, Organizational Chart and Performance Appraisal forms. To accomplish this, I have studied the Employment Law of Malawi passed in 2000 and interviewed all of the staff. This has been quite a different project from my training in the villages of Mozambique!

I am staying in the home of a lovely family who are friends of Towera. The wife, Nellie and Towera are part of a women’s group of business owners. Nellie and her husband James are owners of several businesses – including a travel agency, property development, and fish wholesaling! I have a bedroom with private bath – and two resident geckos. Just like Hawaii. I wish there were more as this is the rainy season and insects are prevalent. I have cereal, banana and yoghurt for breakfast at 6:30 am after waking at 4:30am. As always, I am eating my energy bars for some meals.

No surprise to many of you, but I had a great Chinese dinner last night with Nellie and her youngest son who is in medical school. There are three other sons – all professionals. One is in Indiana; one in Manchester England; and the third in Malawi.

Everyone in Malawi is very gracious and welcoming. As the majority of the population speaks English, I have not had a formal translator with me. During interviews of the staff at Naturals, there were some production workers who did not speak English so another of the staff assisted. As an interesting note, I miss having a translator as that person was always a good source of information about the country (as in Mozambique).

Saturday is the large farmer’s market in town and I will walk to see it. Sunday I will attend the Anglican Church at 7:30 am for the English session. The 9:00 am is in the local tribal dialect and I may stay for part of that.

Internet has been very difficult in the lodging and the company. Only today I am in the CNFA office where I am wired.

Wishing all of you a wonderful weekend and great upcoming week. It is unlikely that I will post again until I am back in the office later this coming week.

Rain on a tin roof

I am staying at Cluny Lodge, a B&B in Lilongwe Malawi. It is run by a South African couple who have "retired" here to be near grandchildren. Besides me, there are two forensic accountants staying in the 4 rooms. Nice simple dinner with boxed South African wine. (It was ok - especially after the second swallow) It has been raining hard and the house has a tin roof. I remembered the sound from the farm house in Athens OH - a very long time ago when Rob was born.

Off by car to Blantyre and my host organization, a female owned company Naturals who make products out of the plants grown in their region.

Go Chargers!

No "ghosts" on my Delta flight to JoBurg

Happy January 2nd! In my previous flights to and from Johannesburg South Africa to Atlanta I was very fortunate to have an empty middle seat next to me. Makes sleeping so much easier. Ah, but 2010 was different. A completely full flight with many, many children - mostly young and with well developed lungs. I did sleep but not my usual 8 hours. I am still very grateful that the flight was safe.

In the hotel in JoBurg. The country is gearing up for the World Cup FIFA championships in the Spring. Everyone is very excited. Everyone hopes that there are no incidents.

Off to Lilongwe Malawai on a South African flight in the morning of January 3rd.