Sunday September 12th

A week as passed since my last blog. Most of the week was spent in Ecunha, a very small village 1 hour outside of Huambo. Coopechuna is a fairly new cooperative with a strong Portuguese NGO background. I worked with a relatively small group of Coop officers in March and am assisting the same on this trip.

The first activity has been difficult. I am requiring that the Coop officer in charge of a subsidiary helps me document the sources of revenue and the expenses. The difficulty is the Coop thinks only in terms of cash receipts and disbursements. If there was money spent two months ago, they do not make the connection with revenue received today. As with the first Coop, some of the subsidiaries spend more than they receive.

I have now created Profit and Loss Excel spreadsheets for both Cooperatives and their subsidiaries. These will be loaded onto the computers and appropriate individuals will be trained in basic Excel techniques. Hopefully, there will be continued training by a local consultant or bookkeeping firm.

Another volunteer has arrived – Dr. Jeffrey Engels. He is an American who just finished his doctorate in marketing at the University of Melbourne Australia. He and his wife Carla have lived there for several years after NGO stints around the world including Armenia and Peru. He is working with another Coop and developing marketing plans for various vegetables. It has been great to have someone to walk around the city with as well as share dinner. As some of you may recall, son Rob spent one semester of his undergraduate years at the University of Melbourne so it has been fun to hear about the changes that have taken place in that wonderful city.

We walked to the church I visited last Sunday in term to hear the choir as they left the sanctuary. What joyful singing and dancing with instruments! The church emptied and a hundred+ children ran inside! The noon service must be geared for the young ones. A group of girls wanted to speak English and were able to say “My name is..”. That is more than I can do in Portuguese so I feel very linguistically inadequate.

I am very grateful to CNFA Farmer to Farmer for the opportunity to volunteer again in southern Africa. This is one of the best NGOs that I have worked for in my 40+ year career. CNFA Farmer to Farmer is committed to capacity building; enabling individuals’ success by providing agricultural and financial skills. This strategy leaves people able to provide for themselves and their children.

A pause to reflect yesterday – the ninth anniversary of 9/11. I was in Italy with Mother and her friend, Sally Dempsey. As we were walking thru Bellagio, people came out with tears and hugs – devastated by the disaster. This day in Angola, was just another Saturday to the population which has experience multiple bombings over the decades. Every building bears the scars..

The smells of Angola defy description – nothing compares in the USA that I have experienced.

A small bout of GI distress is now over; the weather has been excellent – blue sky, sunshine, and 80’s but very low humidity and all is right with the world. Off for another walk.