Angola #9

I am finishing my assignment in Huambo and will be home on May 1st. As you may recall, this assignment is a continuation of two previous assignments which began in December, continued in January, and will conclude with this trip. CNFA’s (Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs) Farmer to Farmer program has a strategic alliance with CODESPA, a Spanish NGO with an emphasis also on agriculture as well as micro finance to underserved segments of an economy. CODESPA requested a volunteer with a banking and financial analysis background so I was asked to be the first CNFA volunteer to work with them. I spent the first part of this trip in Madrid with the CODESPA headquarters staff. A very energetic group of young people with project management skills. Some have been out to the “field” as CODESPA has activities in many countries. I gave a 2-hour seminar on analyzing projects in Angola and Cooperative Financial Management 101. It was cold and rainy in Madrid and I left at 1:00am for Luanda. This is my 9th trip to Angola with 6 of those trips based in Huambo so I have a comfort with the part of town that houses my hotel, CODESPA and CNFA. I walk (20 minutes) to ShopRite which is a “supermarket” and can navigate with some confidence to other areas. Huambo has not changed dramatically in the 2+ years that I have come here; yes, there are some new government buildings but the sidewalks are still torn up and there is a basic lack of electricity, water and sewer for most of the town. Offices and hotels like SIstec have massive generators and buy water which is stored in large blue tanks. I have asked why there is not a system of above or below ground cisterns for collection of rain water but it is unknown here. CODESPA is now working on a second “storage” project – Micro-Silos for dried beans and grain. These are 1,000kg and will be bought by a family. As these are individual, there are less operating costs (guards, management, etc) and appear to be economical. Alberto and I presented the financials to 3 of the 5 Communal Banks (Cooperative-based). The most telling comment: “If a farmer makes payments for 75% of the cost during 9 months, and then decides not to pay any more, what happens? Answer: The Micro-Silo will be repossessed. Next question: “How soon will the farmer receive the money he has already paid back?” Ah my. Working with CODESPA has had another interesting aspect. Alberto is a Spaniard and is very connected into the Expatriate community in Huambo: this includes Portuguese, Cubans, French, Italians, etc. I have enjoyed meeting this diverse group who are currently working in the Huambo region. So all is well in my Angolan world. The country continues to change. Traffic is still a nightmare in Luanda (the capital) but the people are still eager to learn and adapt so the future of their children is better. I am hoping to come back for my 10th trip!