I’m
sitting here in a day hotel room they have booked for us to use as we come and
go on our own schedules this afternoon .
It’s our last day in Ghana. We
leave for the airport and then England later tonight. As a bonus, we will be attending a reception
at the Canadian High Commission before ducking out to the airport. Cutting it a bit close, but how can we pass
up that opportunity?!
We
all noted how it’s hard to believe that two weeks have passed. For most, the days were long. The conditions
rough (but not so rough as those who live here, especially in the villages and
remote areas). Coaches were up and going by 8 am, and often
working on their reports and recommendations til later in the evening. A bit of food and refreshment and then off to
bed to start it all again. My own schedule
didn’t involve coaching, but I was averaging 3-4 visits a day (one day five),
which was challenging all on its own. Still … looking back, the time just flew
by.
So
much we have learned. So much we realize
that we didn’t see or
experience. Plus … we all realized the
privileged existence we have had here in this country. We had dedicated drivers, essentially
cultural liaisons, to get us around and help us navigate a very foreign culture
– and to help us avoid the bigger mistakes we could have made. (Let’s not talk about all the tiny ones we
probably made along the way!!) CUA - the
Ghana credit union central - and CCA worked hard to pre-plan as much as they
could and work out the biggest kinks. (Not
always successfully, but they tried!) If
we’d tried to come in to as individuals, our level of access, mobility and
general comfort would not have been nearly so successful. And our results would have probably reflected
that, too.
This
morning was spent at CUA, briefing the management team there on the experiences
of the coaching teams and the key recommendations they made to each of the
local credit unions. I also was granted
a few moments to reflect on my learnings, and didn’t realize til then what I
had, in fact, experienced. It will take
me a few more days, possibly weeks, to process it all. I took copious notes of the coaches’ stories,
so this should help to round out some of my own reports and possible articles. We will have our own team debriefing in London
when we hook up again with the teams from Uganda and Malawi. That is when I
will help the teams focus the key elements of the stories they’ll be presenting
to various audiences once they are home.
Also
in the morning meeting: we sang the credit union song (a truncated version of
It’s a Small World – seriously!!), had an opening and closing prayer and a few
of the CUA staff made some presentations.
CUA also presented us with thank you gifts, lovely ceremonial
scarves. Then, off to lunch at a local
restaurant.
Once
we’d eaten (90% of us had chicken and rice, our fall-back meal), we dispersed
to savour our last moments in Accra. I
joined the Irish contingent and went to a market to see what trinkets I could
purchase. Notice to my nieces – you SCORED!) Others went swimming, while still others found
food and drink to pass the time.
I
am sitting here in the common hotel room just getting ready to head to the
Canadian High Commission. I have packed
and repacked, and managed to get my two suitcases into one weighing marginally
less than the maximum allowed. It will be so much easier to navigate the tube
in London as we make our way to the hotel from Heathrow using only public
transit. I am in my travelling clothes –
long pants and long shirt. The air
conditioning is keeping me comfortable; how soon will I regret my clothing
choices when I venture into the city again, I wonder.
So
sad it is over. I will miss this place. The things I have seen and done here have made
some preconceptions of mine soften, and given me a new part of the world to
explore, if only through Google and the Internet.
Talk
to you soon,
Mark
