Hello Everyone!
I can't believe that I have been in Ghana for nearly two months, it has certainly flown by. My projects are beginning to wind down. I thought I would give you all an update on where the projects are currently at...
Of course there is the fishing village project in the village of Ahwiado. This project moved along nicely for awhile but it has really come to a screeching halt. After our initial visit we worked to develop an itinerary and a script of sorts for our guide Robert. After several visits with Robert we were able to get a lot of interesting stories and facts about the village. The tour is essentially ready for a trial run but I am doubtful whether or not that will happen while I am still here. The guide has been out of town a lot lately and after heavy rains that flooded many of the low-lying villages around here, I imagine that Ahwiado suffered some damage as well. So factors out of my hands have prevented this project from being completed.
Another project involved redesigning a class developed by the World Bank. This class covered the creation of business plans, financial statements, and the loan process. Its primary aim is to get the women's businesses more organized and help them get a loan so that they can expand their business. After some research around local banks and government organizations, credit here is not cheap. A bank rate on a small business loan was upwards of 35%! However, there is a couple of government initiatives that offer loans from 10% - 20% which is a little bit more attainable for the women. We went through the World Bank material and recreated the class so that it would be more relevant to the women of Global Mamas. We ran a trial run with two of the organizations most organized and business savvy women. The class went relatively well and the women seemed to learn a lot that they will actually apply in their businesses, however it still needs some tweaking. So now the format of the class is getting revamped and additional material being added in. Unfortunately, I will not have enough time to see another class through but some new volunteers will be arriving soon to pick up where we left off so I least we will be able to pass the torch on.
Then there is One Stone. This has certainly been my pet project and the one I have probably enjoyed the most. Since it is my pet project there has been a lot of ups and downs. Besides doing some general business consulting of their operations, I have nearly become a business partner. I have spent a lot of time marketing their drums and trying to make contacts for Sam. After an initial mass email to drumming orgs, universities, and percussion retailers we managed to make one valuable contact which looked like it could be fruitful. But after a couple weeks of correspondence now it is looking like a business relationship with One Stone might not blossom. It is really too bad, but given the nature of trying to conduct business on the other side of the world, it really doesn't come as a shocking blow. Sam and his Rasta faith has been refreshing though, everyday is a new day, so we will see what it brings. At the moment I am attempting to sell some of his furniture on EBay. This is all through my account because Sam, being from Ghana, is not recognized by PayPal. There is too much fraud that occurs in this region of the world so it is nearly impossible for him to get approved for anything like that. It is a huge hurdle. Another hurdle is shipping. It is not easy getting a hand-carved, several hundred pound bed frame from Africa to the US. The charges are astronomical for a single item, but becomes much more reasonable if an entire container is filled up. So the EBay thing is a bit of a challenge. The items that will be showing up on there soon have a hefty price tag reflecting the shipping charges. But we are hopeful the right the person will come along. But if not, tomorrow is a new day.
I am off all next week to travel the country. Should be a good little adventure taking me up the Volta on a yam barge, through the drier north, and eventually to a national park complete with the common African wildlife. There should be some good stories, I am looking forward to sharing it with you.
4 comments:
Hey Grant! Sounds like you have been busy. It is great to hear about all the wonderful things you have been doing. You make it sound like you haven't done anything, but to me it sounds like a ton of work. I'm proud of you bro!
Hey Grant!!! It is hard to believe how quickly the time flies by when you're having fun...and it sounds like you are enjoying it all! It has been a learning experience for me, too. I have looked up maps of Africa, Ghana and even learned a little bit about the Elmina Castle (not so nice!) Just trying to get a better "see" on where you are:) sorry that all of your plans have not proceeded as hoped, but it sounds like you have laid a good foundation for the next group coming in and hopefully, you can go back and work some more! Take care and I will see you soon!
Suzie
Hi GH!
Can one man change the world? I would say that I have hope that he can, but I certainly don't have expectations that major change can be fruitful under such time constraints. Given this, I ask again, would you/will you go back to continue? Even just with One Stone?
I know it's not as home-grown, but what if there was a One Stone furniture store in the US? Even if it was more of a shipping depot than a retail store... Would it be a possibility to have the employees move to America from Ghana to run the store? Maybe that is too big, too expensive....
Can't wait to see you and give you your ice axe back :)
Time certainly does fly when having fun. Without a doubt this has been a fun experience and I do feel like I have accomplished a lot so far. By no means have I been disappointed in the results, even though the posting may sound like I am. There is such a mentality in the US that everything has to be done on time and just so. That mentality is not so prevalent here. So that has certainly been a challenge, getting over that mentality. There were no expectations or due dates on any of my projects. It has been just going with the flow. And that is why the results have felt somewhat fruitless. There has been nothing "turned in" which kind of tricks one into believing that nothing has been accomplished. And of course that goes back to the "on-time" and "correct" mentality.
I was visiting with Sam (One Stone) the other evening and he shed some light on the situation. Without a doubt he has been pleased with what I have done for them. I asked him why that was so when there has been no concrete, tangible results, such as the sale of drums or furniture. He said that my dedication to their fight was enough. It meant a lot to them that I was willing to take such an interest in helping them succeed. The money that would have resulted from a tangible transaction is just that, only money. It has made me realize that the human side of life is much more important than the silly monetary side.
Krista, so many questions and issues that I would love to address but I will have to leave that for when I get back.
Can't wait to get my ice axe back! Even better yet, maybe I can go find a nice little chunk of snow tucked away in a nice Bitterroot couloir that I can go sink it into!
Thanks again for the comments.
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