Beirut May 2014

FSVC/IESC jointly sponsored my assignment in May 2014. The SOW was both training and consulting. Arriving from FRA, I went to the Holiday Inn Beirut! My home for the next 2+ weeks. Another volunteer was there and she would be consulting with some MFI (Micro Finance Institutions) while I was conducting the class. It was delightful to have someone with me for meals! The class was held in the hotel’s conference facility – so electricity and PowerPoint! Modules were Risks, Credit Risk, Credit Scoring, and ALM (Asset Liability Management). A great group of 30+ MFI executives. Class was all day with lunch in the hotel buffet. Marvelous. My other days were spent with 4 individual MFI clients. Each was unique and required different skills: in one case, an analysis of the loan covenants; another was creation of a Risk Committee. It was challenging to spend several days with the client; write the paper; and go to the next. Beirut is a marvelous city; lots of construction which is changing the face of the downtown. I was able to take one day and visit 3 other cities with a marvelous car/driver – to see Byblos, Jeito Grotto and Charissa. All were fabulous!

Off to Kuwait to visit my wonderful Egyptian "son" Haitam. Will blog on those days separately.

Malawi - 6th trip April 2014

Delta flight 200 to JNB was full as always; overnight in City Lodge at the airport. Arrived safely to Lilongwe and stayed with Marinus and Bev Taale at Cluny Lodge. Quite full with other ex-pats on assignments. Off to Zomba and Annie’s Lodge Room 7 as requested. It is a corner with full porch on both sides. When I worked outside, the monkeys were close at hand. I went inside when the baboon appeared. Sakata is trying to become a legal cooperative. I am following another CNFA volunteer, David Daines, who had worked with the group on organizational and registration issues. I was to follow up with financial and bookkeeping. We met in a room provided by WORLEC which is a female-oriented NGO with strong leadership. It receives funding from OXFAM. Class was my Agribusiness Finance. Sakata was considering the purchase (gift?) of a machine to press ground nuts into oil. Financial analysis was not positive. In addition, a professional colleague from Blantyre (Towera Jalakasi) was commissioned by the Ministry to write a paper on the viability of such a project; she also felt it would not be in the best interests of this group. Suggested that the group consider renting a storage facility for ground nuts. We looked at several which are vacant in the village. Met with several government officials – especially helpful was Noel Joseph Shema District Trade Officer from Ministry of Trade. He said that he would work with the group to get certified; it is expensive; WORLEC will ask OXFAM to cover the costs of this special (required) governmental training. OXFAM executives came on the last day of class and were impressed by the knowledge and enthusiasm of the participants. A wonderful group of 26 women and 5 men.

Back to Lilongwe. Unfortunately no time to visit my friends/former colleagues in Blantyre. Home to San Diego and unpack/repack for my trip to Beirut.

Leaving Ghana on June 21st

This has been a great assignment with AFAP (African Fertilizer Agro-dealer Program). I was able to train more than 60 agro-dealers in two locations as well consult directly with the HUB agents(Wholesale/Distributors) that sell to those dealers. All went superbly as AFAP had organized all of the logistics and the participants were invited by the HUB. I stayed in several locations which had electricity most of the time; good beds; and hot water. The only glitch was when USA beat Ghana at the World Cup as everyone had stayed up to the very end (1 am) and were sad. Ghana will face Germany on Saturday. I will write more after I meet tomorrow with my friend/driver from my last project in Ghana - January/March/May 2001! Major Tony Bentil and I traveled up and down visiting the village-based rural banks. His wife and children became part of my life while I was here. Unfortunately, the only email I had for him was not working. BUT through the kindness of the chief driver at Novotel, Lawrence, Tony received a message to call me. Major Tony and I just shared a wonderful Chinese food (his favorite) and it was like no time had passed. His wife is still at the Ministry; his 3 daughters and 1 son are all through University and are bankers, accountants, and professionals. It was wonderful to catch up if only briefly. I hope to see him again when I return to Ghana.

Leaving Uganda

I am leaving Kampala on KLM at 11:30pm bound for Amsterdam; then Delta to Atlanta and again to San Diego. Uganda has been a wonderful assignment. I was part of the US Aid Farmer to Farmer (F2F) contract which is now under Catholic Relief Services (CRS). CRS has been in Uganda since 1965 but primarily in relief and health issues. This is the first contract for CRS under the F2F. I met with the Country Director, Liz Pfifer, the F2F Coordinators, George Ntibarikure and Emmanuel Mukama, and the other CRS staff who work on different projects. I spent most of my time outside of Kampala in Iganga which is near Jinja. Jinja is considered one of the sources of the Nile and I am told that a boat ride will show the visitor the “spouting of the water”. Iganga is a municipal town of ~40,000 and serves as the commercial/government hub for the region. I stayed in Mum Resort Hotel. As with many African guest houses, there is new construction along with the old building so “deferred maintenance” takes a back seat to the new project. I was finally able to have a functioning bathroom! The staff is very nice though not promptly responsible (except when my sink faucet did not turn off!) I was working with a large cooperative - Namungalwe Area Cooperative Enterprise (NACE) which has 6 RPOs (Rural Producers Organization) and more than 500 members. The NACE is managed by a very competent business man, Badru and has computer facilities which produce excellent reports. Badru also acted at times as my interpreter when Peter (a university student) was in class. Both were great. The Board of Directors of NACE set the agenda for the training: I would travel every day to a new RPO and present a one-day Business of Farming class. On 2 days, I met with the RPO members in a school room but the other 4 days I was outside under a tree. Farm animals became part of the program with a Tom Turkey very angry that 30+ humans were in his space. Over the 6 days, I met with 160+ members. The second part of the assignment was to conduct a Training of Trainers (TOT). Each RPO “volunteered” 3 to 4 members who agreed to conduct future training. I developed 10 short (30-60 minutes) training modules. For 3 days, the 24 “Trainers” met with me and learned how to train the material. I am confident that each RPO has at least one or two people who can continue the training. Each RPO made a commitment to begin ASAP and will report these efforts to the NACE and CRS. My hotels have ranged from just ok (Mum Resort in Iganga) to great (Apricot Hotel and Fairway Hotel Kampala). The people are wonderful and eager to learn/change/proper. I write this on St. Patrick’s Day so Erin go bragh!

Malawi in August 2013

It was only a week ago that I experienced the “Nairobi nightmare.” I arrived at the Kilimanjaro airport with plenty of time and had double that before my SAA plane arrived for the trip to Nairobi. I knew as I boarded that I had missed the SAA connecting flight to Malawi. As you fly over NBO (Nairobi Airport), you see huge white tents which have replaced the fire-destroyed parts of the international terminal. Landing on the tarmac, buses take the transit passengers into chaos. There was no later flight so I requested a hotel room and meal vouchers which SAA provided. I collected my checked bags and off to EKA Hotel. What a delightful surprise! It is new; very close to the airport; designed for business travelers with work space and free internet; excellent restaurant. After a great night of sleep, I was transported back to chaos. Fortunately, I have no problem expressing my intentions (as you all know) and I was on the plane to Malawi – one day late. Met at the airport by the wonderful CNFA staff and taken to Cluny Lodge, I was where I belonged. The End of Program Hosts Conference was extremely well planned by the CNFA Malawi staff at Sunbird Lilongwe Hotel. My role was to assist in reviewing the PowerPoint presentations of two of the three presenting hosts (feed manufacturer and a cooking oil processor) on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I was the Conference Master of Ceremonies with the stated goal of managing the schedule. There were more than 50 participants; most had hosted CNFA volunteers over the last 5 years. The US Aid Agricultural Officer and another CNFA volunteer, Bill Nichols, were also present. Presentations went well; questions/answers were good; the schedule stayed intact! The group took two “field trips” to visit former hosts: the feed manufacturer and a farm with CNFA greenhouses. Lunch was an excellent buffet with goat stew! Conference concluded at 5:30pm. Bill Nichols and I went to Noble China restaurant to share Chinese cabbage with port, celery with cashews, sesame chicken, and beef stir fry - Excellent. On Thursday, Manford from CNFA collected me for our 4+ hour drive to Zomba. I stayed in Annie’s Lodge which I had only visited during my last trip to the area in August 2012. The hotel is a disappointment to me: expensive; broken light fixtures; a misbehaving toilet (flushing when IT wanted to!). Friday morning we drove to Domesi to visit the Cooperative that I had trained last year. 21 of the 165 members met us at the production facility where they make peanut butter and soya milk. In an earlier blog, I wrote about the “production” process. As there is no electricity, the soya beans and groundnuts (peanuts) must be ground by using a bicycle as the motor. Every member is scheduled! The most exciting news was that there is now a SACCOS of 50 members which is making small loans and the loans are being repaid!! We then travelled to Blantyre where I was visiting two former hosts: Naturalsm (January 2010) and UMODZI Consulting (April 2013). Manford and I had a great lunch of grilled local chicken, green vegetables and rice at the Agricultural Fairgrounds. During the next weekend, it will be filled with Cooperatives displaying products. We then went to UMODZI Consulting to meet with the two Managing Directors: Tione Kaonga and Frank Mkumba. The firm continues to gain new clients and will be conducting some data collection for CNFA. Manford dropped me at Mama’s B&B where I have stayed several times. I am spending the weekend on reports. I will meet with Towera Jalakasi on Sunday as she has a very full Monday. Her company Naturalsm processes the Baobab fruit into juice. She is building a new factory in the Lilongwe area which will be managed by her sister. As I blogged before, she has started TEECS (Tools for Enterprise and Education Consultants) – a consulting firm with her husband. The firm has two large contracts at the moment: The Gates Foundation and the Ministry of Agriculture plus small assignments from a variety of clients. We will drive back to Lilongwe on Monday morning. I fly home to San Diego beginning on Thursday the 29th after a month in Africa. I will not “labor” on Labor Day and wish all of you great bar b ques!

Leaving Tanzania

I am flying on Sunday, August 18th through Nairobi Airport International Terminal. It was the scene of a horrific fire last week which destroyed the Arrivals Hall and other areas. I am assured by CNFA Travel that I will be able to transit through on my way to Lilongwe Malawi. Will let you know!! My second week in Katesh went very well – especially the weather. Instead of bitter cold and wind and gray skies, it was sunny and wind and blue skies. The temperature was much higher; I did not have to sleep in my clothes and fleece jacket! I walked around the small town/large village and revisited Mama Duncan several times. The class went well with both the AMCOS and SACCOS members. As the AMCOS is negotiating with CRDB (Cooperative Rural Development Bank) for a line of credit and the SACCOS is negotiating to be an “agent” for the bank in Katesh, we spent significant time on banking, loans specifications, and strategies. CRDB is Tanzania’s largest bank and will be expanding via the “agent” model into unbanked and under-banked communities. On Thursday, Dr. Alson Lyimo (CNFA Country Director), Anthony Kissinga (CNFA Program Manager), Sebastian Assenga (my favorite interpreter), and Edward, a Ugandan photographer hired by CNFA arrived in Katesh. The team is documenting the impact that CNFA has achieved during the last 5 years with small scale farmers and business owners. I hope that the new NGO, CRS, chosen by USAID accomplishes as much. The gentlemen attended my last class as well as participating in the Certificates. The class gave me a beautiful Kanga cloth; as usual, I was “wrapped” like a cocoon! I hope that a picture will come from Edward. I am back in gray (but not cold) Moshi at the Bristol Cottages. An excellent place to stay if you are coming to Tanzania for safari or to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Fingers crossed please that Nairobi Airport transit is successful!

Greetings from very cold Tanzania

I am back in Katesh and working with two groups: Katesh AMCOS (Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Society) and Heikima SACCOS (Savings and Credit Cooperative Society). I had worked with Heikima on a previous trip but the attendees are mainly new to me. We are meeting in a government building which has been fine. I arrived in Kilimanjaro airport after 3 flights. The first two were Delta and I was upgraded on both! The third is a KLM flight from Amsterdam; 8+ hours with no ghost. Ah well. The Immigration at Kilimanjaro is always a challenge with few officers and hundreds of passengers. As my visa and CTA (Certificate of Temporary Assignment) were both valid until August 14th, the officer waved me on- a stamp requiring that I check in with a Regional Immigration Office within 2 weeks. This has been a challenge as Katesh is a small village. I was going this morning to the RIO at Babati but the CNFA car is not working. I stayed several nights in Moishi, a small city near Arusha. On the 5th, we traveled to Arusha for the annual Agricultural Trade Fair for northern Tanzania. Many wonderful demonstration plots by the best farmers in each district. I purchased shoe polish, wine (from the Roselle plant – Lynfred Winery in Illinois also lists) and groundnuts (peanuts). That evening 24 CNFA-assisted farmers arrived at the hotel for 2 days of meetings and trips to the Trade Fair. It was wonderful to see former clients: Gende Cooperative in Babati; USOMAMA; Takauma from Lake Basuto and meet some new friends. The hotel was awful: no hot water and a night club that went non-stop from sundown to sun up. Travel to Katesh included a stop in Babati for rice, beans and green vegetable with Red Gold Chili Sauce. That is my favorite meal in Africa. Arrived and went immediately to meet the Board of the two clients. Set the logistics and topics for the next 8 days of training. It is my Finance 101 with special emphasis on banking and loans. The classes have gone well with very active participation. Saturday was the District farmers’ market – fields of second hand clothes and shoes; herds of cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys for sale; meat grilling with local alcohol brews. It was sunny but cold and very windy so I only stayed a short time. The rest of the weekend was quiet. I visited Mama Duncan, the wonderful 70-ish lady who has organized women into a cooperative that makes beautiful jewelry, leather, and fabric items. Worked on flip charts for the next week. Sunday Haji picked me up and we attended the Heikema SACCOS meeting. At this meeting each week, the members make contributions to their savings accounts. Monday was to be a trip to Babati to accomplish several things: Immigration, ATM withdrawals, and the purchase of water, candy, and more chili sauce. Alas, it was not to be as the car has stopped working. I will get to class by walking or taxi. It was extremely cold last week; this week starts cool but sunny. I am still wearing my fleece jacket inside the bedroom! Hope that everyone has a great week!