Update on the Last Week

This past week has been fantastic for several reasons.

First of all, Sebastien, a Canadian journalist on contract with CIDA, has been staying with us at the villa (and is sadly leaving us tomorrow morning). Not only did he visit AVOH last week to take some footage but he also went to FDHO with Axelle to give them some exposure... He then visited several other associations/organisations throughout the week. He is very cool – he's creating a documentary on Canadian and local development initiatives in Burkina-Faso and I'm very excited to see how it turns out in a few months on Rogers (and we'll see if my interview with him tomorrow morning at 7:15am will make it on the final product...). We basically carted him around with us wherever we went, and he proved to be quite the tag-along! He's certainly someone I'll keep in touch with. But the kicker is the fact that he lives about two seconds away from my brother Sean in Hull, and he just graduated from Ottawa U! Funny how two people can live so close to each other and only meet when they're 8,970,972 km's from home... Small world!

Things are similarly fantastic on the work front. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go to Ghana last week because of lack of resources on AVOH and WUSC's side. And I was certainly not prepared to pay for the trip out of my own pocket, so it had to be rationalised (as my father so eloquently puts it when you pooh-pooh something...). As they say here in Burkina, "la vie est cher!". It ended up being a blessing in disguise, however, as we finished several important tasks this week including the final logo, brochure and label (which I sent to Mme. Drabo when she was in Ghana to discuss printing options with packaging suppliers). On Friday we had my mid-mandate meeting with Mme. Lakaonde, and it was as efficient as it was useful. She certainly has some great ideas and I was able to reinforce my plan of action for the next three weeks, seeing as that's all the time I have left to bring my work to fruition.

My next tasks include finalising the marketing plan (which will be very cool because they will be able to cater it to whatever campaign they want... seeing as my focus is their two primary products – dried mangoes and nectar – but since they produce several other things including dried vegetables and soap they can change it accordingly after I'm gone). I'm also going to have several meetings with Mme. Drabo throughout the next three weeks to document AVOH's priorities (which I will incorporate into my very important list of recommendations for WUSC). Speaking of the list of recommendations, I am discovering more and more that a marketing volunteer is the last thing AVOH needs right now. First they need an HR specialist to formalise the workplace and make sure people come to work on time and do they jobs they are being paid for (which means they have to know what their job is in order to do is properly...). Then they could surely use a production specialist to render the line more efficient... Tweak it and maybe come up with a list of production machines or tools that AVOH can ask various aid organisations for. Then an accounting specialist would be useful, seeing as the master plan is for AVOH to grow as an enterprise (and I know I always say this, but their potential is amazing... they can do so much if they are given the right tools!)... And every good enterprise needs a seasoned accountant/financial controller. THEN they would surely benefit from another marketing intern to do everything I was hoping to do when I was here but couldn't since there were so many things that needed to be done before even thinking about starting... (Run-on sentence... I know...) Going and generating demand! Getting new customers, spreading the word, selling – That is what I'm really good at but was not able to do because they needed to learn how to turn on a computer (and other basic administrative tasks) first.

It frustrates me because I wish I could stay here for another few months. In fact, I could see myself really effecting long-term change if I was here for a year... That way I could generate long-term demand for AVOH – and work on a couple other things for them, including asking for aid and donations to expand their factory (and really push for the profession-specific volunteers I mentioned in the last paragraph)... I know I could really help this micro-enterprise turn into a market force to be reckoned with... This means that it could help many more AIDS victims emerge from poverty. This is what truly breaks my heart, and this is what makes me want to come back. I know that when it is time for me to go home, I will feel like my job isn't done (although according to my original mandate I will have finished over and above what I was supposed to do).

So for the next three weeks it's all about following the detailed agenda I've drafted so I stay on track. From when I meet with various local businesses ("Fasoplast" for nectar bottles and a couple printing stores) to what time of the day I devote to writing my internship report to what tasks I need to do to prepare for the next day, I need to be organised if I want to finish everything. Ambitious, yes... impossible, no.

For now, I'm off to bed. Its midnight and I have an interview to give tomorrow morning. Pray for me –it's in French.

A

June 23 - Off to Ghana!

So I've managed to get my organization to pay for part of the trip to Ghana... which means I can go now! I was really discouraged because what the president is doing in Ghana - negotiating with a packaging supplier - is what i'm here for and I didn't think I was going to be able to go.

So we leave tomorrow morning for Ouaga - which is where I'll get my visas, then wednesday we go to Ghana via bus... it will be a good 12 hour ride so I have to prepare myself. When we get there we won't stop - we'll be going directly to the supplier. Then we visit a customer that we're relying on to order from us for the next few months (as the sole supplier of income for the orphans and widows)... so this trip is so important, and I can only hope I will increase the chances of its success. I do speak english better than the president, so that gives us an edge to start with.

I'll be bringing my computer, and if i dont get an internet connection there, I'll save my blog posts and publish them when I get back. Until then, pray for AVOH and I - we have no choice but to be successful on this trip or else.

Take care and be safe!
A

June 22 - Mosquitoes

This is what I found on my foot this morning. Apparently, this is what happens when you wear open shoes at night... Thank goodness for anti-malaria pills.

I'm just going to put this out there: Why is it that even when you try to cover up as much as possible, mosquitoes always seem to find your vulnerable spot? They're like ninjas!

Needless to say I will be wearing nothing but repellent from now on - even on my feet – covered or not. And Barb, thank you for the Cortaid you gave me a few months ago – it's really helping with the itching.

On a more serious note, Nathalie – the secretary at AVOH - has malaria, thus the reason why she has been out of commission for the last few days. This worries me because she is pregnant. According to the WHO malaria presents risks to both the parent and the unborn child. I found this online:

"Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to malaria as pregnancy reduces a woman's immunity to malaria, making her more susceptible to malaria infection and increasing the risk of illness, severe anaemia and death. For the unborn child, maternal malaria increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, premature delivery and low birth weight - a leading cause of child mortality." ("Lives at risk: malaria in pregnancy" April 25, 2003, Available at: http://www.who.int/features/2003/04b/en/ (Retrieved June 22^nd, 2008)

She has been going to the antenatal clinic to receive care, but the problem is that she is the only administrator at AVOH. All we can do now is pray that her baby is born healthy and full of life. Friday she came to work (despite my telling her to stay home and get better) and since she wouldn't go home I asked her to teach Ismail what to do to catch up for her. He is going to be picking up the slack when she's having the baby, after all – why not start now? She then went home early but I'm pretty sure she went back that evening, after I left, to finish catching up. She is so persistent it amazes me.

On top of that, Axelle got malaria as well. So now I am officially surrounded by it. Thankfully this is not her first encounter with the sickness (it is not Nathalie's, either...) so she was able to catch it before it got serious – we went out last night to buy her some medicine and this morning she feels much better... Thank goodness – we (as in interns) cannot afford to get sick because we only have a short period (3 months) to fulfill our demanding mandates.

This is why I took a picture of my foot – so I (and all of you) never forget to wear repellent... Because as far as you think you may be from catching something, it still manages to hit dangerously close to home... Your colleagues, your room mates, your family. And don't forget to take your anti-malaria pills for goodness sakes!

On a funnier note, we have officially named the "gremlins" (the neighbour's kids... see Picture with kids next to motor bike in previous month's blog) our "best worst memory" of Bobo... I will never forget them, no matter how much I may try to!! I think seeing them is just God telling me I really don't want kids any time soon – reinforcing my view!

On the food side (I AM a foodie after all), I am still a happy camper, but am beginning to really miss Canadian luxuries like Salmon, shrimp and good ol' AAA Alberta beef. Yet more things to add to my list of things to do when I get back. I ate a cheeseburger yesterday and it felt good – my first (and most likely last) "fast food" experience over here. It was a small restaurant/bar and the burger was decent considering there was no meat and fake cheese in it. Reminded me of McDonald's, actually! Now I can officially say that I am no longer fantasizing about Big Macs... What was I thinking, anyway?!

As for new words: "Bicyclette" can now be used as an adjective for anything that is sub-par or below usual standards... thus "poulet bicyclette" means chicken with absolutely no meat on it, and "cuisinier bicyclette" means a cook who doesn't do his job – i.e. doesn't cook and clean much -but when he does he ruins everything from dishes to clothes. I ate "Carpe bicyclette" on Friday for dinner – nothing more to say about it except that I can still feel bone remnants stuck in my molars. Hopefully you catch my drift.

On the work front, I have two different versions of the brochure and am finishing the third today – I also have the mission statement finished and will translate it into English, which I'm doing for all of AVOH's marketing material. I'll try to publish a copy of the final brochure later on this week for you all to see it. On the school front, I'm almost finished my internship report now. I really like the idea of finishing everything a few weeks ahead of time – which is what I did for all of my exams this semester because of the internship... No stress this way!

A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from the WUSC coordinator in Burkina – Angele Touchette – letting us all know there is a Canadian journalism student (Sebastien) who will be coming to BF to create a documentary to educate Canadians on the development initiatives in BF. I obviously jumped all over it and I am happy to say that Sebastien will be staying with us for the next week, and will be visiting not only my association but Axelle's as well – talk about connections! This means that Monday and Tuesday (hopefully) he will be coming to work with me at AVOH and Wednesday he'll go to FDHO with Axelle – he has a third association he will visit just outside of Bobo on Thursday and Friday, most likely. Then he goes to Banfora, about 100km's from here to continue collecting data for the documentary. Gosh I hope AVOH makes the cut - this would give them so much great exposure, especially considering they've only just become partners with WUSC – CECI – UNITERRA. With that said, Sebastien will be staying with us at the villa until Friday... What a great way to spend a week in Burkina!

 

June 20th – Thank You’s

I would like to take the time to thank a couple people who have really influenced or helped me with this internship (and in life in general...). First of all, thank you Dad and Barb for being my number one fans and always supporting me no matter what... A girl couldn't ask for better parents. Even when I hit rock bottom (or close to it) you're still there every step of the way to bring me back up to where I should be. Thank you Sean, Rob, and Yohan (my 2^nd roommate over here) for helping me with logos (Sean and Rob = Graphic designers) and the mission statement (Yohan = business major and future Mr. Trump). You are my creative gurus and I (and AVOH) really appreciate your help! On a similar note, thank you Sean for souping my computer up before I left... One more reason why I've been able to get my job done over here! Thank you Ryan for all the CD's you made me two years ago for Christmas... You have no idea how much I've been listening to them over here... I have a new appreciation for French rap/hip hop/pop because of you. And thank you for the blow-up mattress you lent me... it really does regulate body temperature... a must-have over here.

Thank you Adora (fire panda!) for writing me awesome updates every few weeks... They never cease to put a smile on my face. Thank you Vicki for drunk-dialling me last weekend... and all the stories you have about life in MTL - I am living vicariously through you girl. Thank you Erica for offering to sacrifice your own personal well-being and waiting 'till I get back to watch Sex and the City with me... I'm sooo excited! And thank you Axelle and Yohan for making my stay here that much better... sharing it with awesome roommates like you! And I promise this is the last sappy note you'll get from me... I just hope you realise how much I cherish you all and I thank my lucky stars to consider you all my friends and family.

Lovin' it over here!

A

What an Evolution!

New to Afton's Adventures!!
-The ability to make comments on this blog without having to sign your life away!! Yipeee... Family I'm counting on you to make this interesting.

Happy Commenting!

A

June 19th, 2008 – Challenges!

Challenges, challenges, challenges... This place is full of them. I am a marketing intern... I'm supposed to be coming up with ideas on how to generate demand for AVOH's products, but they don't even have a functioning production department. How do I go and sell their product to big hotels and chains knowing they will never satisfy that demand in their current state? In that regard, I find myself continuously taking on the role of management/HR advisor. After the executive meeting on Thursday, we decided that there is an immediate need for a clear hierarchy and chain of command at AVOH... So I proposed that they create a diagram (for starters) and finish it for Friday... Which didn't happen. It took one weekend and two days for Herve (production intern) and Mme. Drabo (president) to figure out a production hierarchy and who is where on it. Then I asked them to put down the specific tasks required of every position on the hierarchy and that took another hour, with me there beside them giving pointers. Although I would say Herve is the most progressive of the bunch, he seemed quite resistant to the thought of putting down specific tasks beside the positions. I literally had to explain to him four times that roles must be clear within any organisation right down to the last minute detail – so if any problems arise they know exactly where they started and can take corrective action immediately. Finally, Herve plunked a torn off piece of paper complete with scribbling, scratches and arrows on it (and what I later made out to be people's names) on my desk... It reminded me of my days working at Mercedes-Benz. (hee hee... learning experiences, n'est-ce pas?)

This week I finally got started on the logo and brochure and product labels. Between me, my brother, his business partner (thanks, Rob!!) and other connections, I have a good five logos for Mme. Drabo to choose from come Monday next week. Since she's out of the office this week on seminars, it gave me the chance to really plug in and go nuts on the marketing side. I had Ismail search the internet for different packaging suppliers in and around Burkina-Faso and put the data into an excel worksheet... I have to make him practice his new skills, after all. I then touched up the brochure some more with him, created a few different versions, and translated it into English so we could communicate to a wider demographic. After that I started on my mid-internship report, since Mme. Lakaonde (WUSC representative for the HIV/AIDS sector) will be coming next week to conduct the mid-internship meeting. Which reminds me. I got my hopes up earlier this week because Mme. Drabo asked me to go to Ghana with her next week to meet with a customer and packaging manufacturer for dried mangoes... I was so excited to finally be going on the field that I immediately wrote to Angele Touchette, the WUSC coordinator here in Burkina, asking what I need to go. I quickly found out that I need to get two different visas: one multiple-entry for BF and one single entry for Ghana, which would cost me close to $30, or 15000fcfa's... And both of which I need to send to Ouaga, 350km's away, to receive the visas. It's unfortunate, but AVOH cannot afford to pay for it and neither can I, so Mme. Drabo will be going to Ghana alone next week.

Comparing my expectations before getting here and the reality of my being here is interesting. In my letter of motivation (the letter I had to submit to qualify for this internship), I specifically asked for a field job with little to no French writing at all, seeing as my written French skills are at the grade nine level (which is when I stopped taking French in high school)... Since my spoken French is decent (and the plan was to perfect it here, which is thankfully happening!), I thought I was going to be interacting with people and going out to villages and spreading awareness about AVOH's cause. But here I am, stuck behind a desk typing the association's hierarchical structure – in French – on a Word spreadsheet... Thank goodness I have friends here who write French beautifully to check over my work. On the positive side, however, I get to practice my written French - which I will eventually have to do if I plan on truly being able to work in both languages.

Another expectation I had before coming here was that I would have more tools available to me – say... Internet and a working office... and a coherent operation that was ready to be marketed before I got here. But once again expectations did not meet reality, which is actually okay for me – I am always up for a challenge and this one, I think, is really going to pay off. And tomorrow, after finishing at AVOH, I've been asked by Axelle, my roommate, to go to her placement (FDHO – Femmes et Developement du Houet) and teach the secretary how to use Excel. I can't wait – I never realised how much I enjoy teaching... I now understand why my high school teachers – after all the abuse they got from us kids (you know who you are...) – enjoyed their jobs so much.

Now that I'm almost half way through this experience, I'm beginning to really feel the pressure of my mandate. I have to finish drafting a concrete list of confirmed packaging suppliers (which I started from scratch) and I also have to draft their marketing plan, based on local and national events they will be attending for publicity. I'm also getting a mission statement ready with the help of one of my friends over here, and before all of that I have to finish and confirm the new logo and brochure for AVOH... They're going to be using it on all of their official documents and labels for a long time, after all. I then have to write a final report for WUSC quantifying my work over the last few months... After all of this is finished, I still have to write a 25 page (minimum) report on this internship for school (thank goodness I've already started writing it) and then go through three weeks of intensive courses after I get back to Canada. Should be fun! I have to say that I am SO ready and I can't wait to ace this thing...

So I guess what I'm really saying is that throughout all the challenges, I will emerge with AVOH victorious... By the time I'm gone they will be armed with a comprehensive marketing plan and will also be fully competent running an office (computers, filing systems, organisational charts, accounting, chain of command, etc...). I'm also writing a list of recommendations for the next time they ask for an intern... They would really benefit from two different interns: Accounting and production. Although I was able to help them with basic accounting sheets on Excel, they were just that... basic. If AVOH grows like I think it can, they will eventually need a certified accountant to go in and teach Ismail and Nathalie everything about the profession. With that said, they could also benefit from a production volunteer who can go in and tweak their factory so it runs more efficiently... and to reinforce the chain of command we just created.

Here's to the next five weeks of gruelling, fun, hard work!

A

June 16th, 2008

It has been three weeks since I started working at AVOH and I am proud to say that my students (... those that are left of the original 5) are fully competent using computers and programs like Microsoft Word, Excel and the Internet. With that said, the last few weeks have definitely had their share of challenges. For starters, when I first began giving lessons on the computer, I had five students... Four women (Florence, Safora and Nathalie) and one man (Ismail). They were all present for the first week, although two kept falling asleep in class because they didn't eat anything before coming.

The second week I lost two – the first one because she kept calling in sick and not producing doctor's notes... But then the truth came out and we found out she was pregnant, which means she will stop all of her schooling until after she has the child – which means she will be 21 and probably have a hard time finding an association or agency willing to pay for her schooling because they try to help younger students. And apparently, as Mme. Drabo later explained to me, the baby's father is known for having unprotected sex with many women – which means there's a higher chance of him, and in turn the girl, of having AIDS. The girl has yet to get tested, and Mme. Drabo told her to get everything taken care of before she comes back to work and school... Her health is the number one concern at this point. This is when I realised that Mme. Drabo is more than a boss to these women... She is a mother as well. Thus the name "Tanti", which they all call her – this is what you call a woman who is older than you that you respect...

The second girl I lost apparently doesn't want to continue learning how to use the computer because she is afraid of it... And this is the one I spent extra time with because she was having a harder time learning... I felt like she was making good progress... But one lesson I've learnt here is that you can't help someone who isn't willing to help themselves. The third week – this week – I lost the third girl because she continued to fall asleep in class even after my forcing her to eat something... And after several hours teaching her how to use Word and Excel (and many more hours practicing), she still took three hours to type up a simple one-page graph, in between leaving to go talk to whoever and falling asleep. I still had hope so I continued on – because she was the girl who was going to take over the administration of the association when the current secretary goes on maternity leave. Tuesday I got back to work and I only had two students left – the current secretary and Ismail, the last student. I found out right away that the third girl was no longer going to be responsible for administration because she repeatedly gave away the association's money to friends and family... And this Association cannot afford that. Even after the hundreds of thousands of francs Mme. Drabo spent on sending her to accounting and management seminars she still ended up where she is now... And I find myself with only two students left.

This might sound like a failure of sorts, but I have a much better view of my situation: Quality reigns over quantity. Although there are only two students (one of which is pregnant and will be going on maternity leave in a few months), they are the best students a teacher could ask for. Ismail is really motivated and willing to learn new things, and by Wednesday he was already surfing the internet and researching packaging suppliers for the lists we have to make this week. Nathalie was also up there with Ismail, and by Friday they both set up their own Yahoo e-mail accounts and sent me several test-e-mails afterwards. Ismail was so excited about the abundance of information available on the net he immediately checked out the latest Euro cup football score. Don't ask me who won – I still don't know.

So my new plan is to teach these two everything I know about marketing and management and IT, and they will in turn teach whoever they choose (based on competency and initiative) to carry on once Nathalie goes on maternity leave. This means that it is only the three of us with Mme. Drabo who will be working on marketing. Which is similarly a positive thing because smaller groups tend to be more efficient (than larger ones) when trying to bang out five-week marketing plans. So for this week, the first task is to come up with a logo – I already have a few ideas drafted, so I need the group's input and consensus and will then go on save in several different formats on the computer for printing. I'm going to make sure both Ismail and Nathalie do all of the computer stuff, which means creating and modifying the logo and saving it in different formats etc... So they master their IT skills. After the logo we're going to finish the brochure – which we will in turn save in different formats and then send to whatever international agencies we want for donation and project requests... Say... Asking for donations to fund a project to expand the factory? It's all in the master plan folks...

And after the brochure it's on to developing a list of all the events that AVOH will start sending representatives to with samples... After all, marketing is all about making contacts and getting a name out in the open. This list will also be a part of their year-long marketing plan, which they will (hopefully) carry on the next year and after that... The plan is for them to fine tune after each campaign to make it more and more efficient... And this also makes any new volunteers' job easier, seeing an established and comprehensive marketing plan that encompasses all the Association's future plans. I sure wish I had that before I got here.

Another challenge I have is determining the best plan for packaging. Either we do like Coca Cola and ship our product (dried mangos, nectar and jam) in large containers and leave the packaging up to the retailer, or we secure packaging with a local supplier – who is expensive for the quality of packaging – and ship out to the foreign retailer. I'm pretty sure plan A is the winner but I have to see with the group – they know the transportation and other costs involved with doing business here so they have the upper hand in information. So that's our packaging dilemma. On top of that, I continue to receive more responsibilities and am doing my best to manage them along with the ones I already have. This Friday, I held an executive meeting (with the heads of departments). I was surprised, because as everyone else was getting ready to take notes with their pads and pens, the head of production (and chief of the most important department of the association) was sitting there arms crossed. I found myself interrupting the meeting halfway through and asking her why she wasn't writing notes – in front of everyone – seeing as her department was the most important one and she should be the first one looking to learn new ways to improve efficiency in her department. She then left the room and came back – 15 minutes later – with a piece of paper and pen and started taking notes immediately. What an evolution.

During this meeting I noticed several challenges facing the development of this organisation: namely the fact that Mme. Drabo, the president, is responsible for everything. There is no clear hierarchy except for her. She doesn't delegate tasks (even to her head of production... which I don't blame her but things still need to change)... She even went as far as speaking for people when I specifically asked them questions... Not on purpose but because she simply does everything for them anyway... I've never seen a seventy-something year old work so hard in my life. This woman is so determined she is an inspiration – but what I'm afraid of is that no one will be able to carry on the operations after she retires for good. So one of the meeting's objectives was to put down on paper (and in turn the computer) a clear hierarchy – chain of command – with specific people's names and their specific CLEAR tasks... For example: Ismail is now the head of accounting – which includes him keeping all accounts up to date on excel, and organising all of the weekly and monthly reports for the president... Which means he collects all the quantities and costs from the different production heads... who report solely to him and then he reports to the president... no if's, and's or but's. Nathalie is now the head of administration... she deals with all documents – right down to typing up the minutes of our executive meeting. She reports directly to the president and prepares any packages (project proposals, official letters, Human Resources, etc...). Now it's just a matter of following through with this chain of command... and having meetings every Friday with the department heads to reinforce the objectives of the association. All I can hope is that they continue after I'm gone – if they don't, they'll drop back into the same cycle they were in before I got there.

These are the things we will work on for the next five weeks... My goodness time goes fast. It feels like it was just yesterday when I got off the plane from Canada. I'm really excited and scared at the same time because I feel like I have a lot riding on these next few weeks. I have to work efficiently and tirelessly so that I attain my mandate's objectives. I will update you on the progress of my work... The logo, brochure, and marketing plan should (hopefully) be on their way to fruition this and next week. But I guess we'll find out in my next blog post!

Until next time, be well, be safe, and don't miss me too much!

A

 

June 11 - Motorcycle Madness

So my motorbike broke down last Thursday... On my way back home. Let me explain the distance between my house and my place of employment: It's the equivalent of the distance between the market and Kanata in Ottawa.

SO! I was about 2km's away from work on my way home when the bike started jumping and eventually broke down. At this point I thought there was still hope, so I went into my bag to grab my cell phone... Which had no battery left. Great. So there was no longer any hope left until I reached a telecenter, where I could call Axelle (roomate) and get her to send reinforcements. You know the 417 hwy between Kanate and Bayshore? Well that's the type of road I was on... So no telecenters for at least another few kilometres. So I walked. With the bike. Talk about turning heads... It's bad enough when you see a "Tubabu" over here let alone a destitute-looking one with a broken down motorbike.

Needless to say after that I started wearing my running shoes more often... Thankfully... Because this Monday (keep in mind the bike has yet to be repaired at this point) I had to walk the entire way - from work to my house - because apparently, no taxis like to stop for "Tubabu"!! I waved, I "pssst!", I did everything under the sun to grab every taxi's attention but no one stopped. I now have massive blisters at the bottom of my feet.

But that isn't the end of it. Yesterday a taxi finally stopped for me but did not want to bring me all the way to my house. Which was fine - I was just happy to not have to walk 20Km's. So halfway to my house it started raining... Remember in my previous notes when I explained the rain here? ARMAGEDDON. Which was also fine. What was not fine, however, was the fact that I was wearing white...

On the positive side, I won't need to work out at all this week... Yay.

A few side notes...

For future reference to anyone planning on travelling to Africa:

Bring the same clothes you'd wear on a hot summer day to work wherever you come from... Because that's what they wear here. If you're white, you already stick out enough... don't make yourself look like a wannabe humanitarian with cargo pants and work boots/sandals. Nice trousers with leather shoes will do!
I find myself wearing my cutest stuff actually... The women here are very stylish!

I made the mistake of bringing only one pair of heels - not even real ones.. kitten heels - and I wish I would have brought at least one fun pair with matching clutch. ALDO anyone?! Speaking of my kitten heels, I figured out I needed a new pair of lifts when I got here, so I sent them to the "cordonnier"... bad idea. Instead of a new pair of plastic lifts, I got two pieces of old tire rubber stuck on the heels. Sick. So I can't wear them anymore.

With that said, next time I go to Africa, I plan on bringing:

- wifi modem... trust me I'll need it –
- dvd's - LOTS
- unlocked blackberry... great for texting and I would have been able to use a phone chip from here - much cheaper.
- one nice pair of stilettos and matching clutch... Just because.
- 3-4 bathing suits
- 3 pairs of flip flops.. because surprisingly, I only brought one pair.

Things I plan on doing right after I get back to Ottawa (this list will be updated as time goes on... You can count on it)

- take a HOT shower... the cold showers here don't bother me but it's a "because I can" thing in Canada.
- mani/pedi combo among other things (hello waxing!)... and maybe a hot stone massage.
- Eat a rare delmonico cut steak... with Montreal steak spices and roasted garlic mashed potatoes... and asparagus. and paparadella alfredo with chicken and procuito... and Proseco to drink... and Lava cake/cheesecake/gelato for desert. Yes These are my favorite things and I can't have ANY of them here because they're just not available. I will eat a Big Mac as well.
- Watch Sex and the City movie
- smother on satsuma body butter... because I forgot to bring some and I'm going through withdrawal.

Speaking of food, I ate my first meat sandwich yesterday... it reminded me of a Lebanese meat pie... except not. It cost me $0.44 Canadian. That's all I have to say.

As for the more serious part of my internship, I have now developed a comprehensive plan of action with timelines.

Although my original mandate was as marketing consultant (which includes commercialisation – logo, brochure, etc...), I'm taking on a second role as Information Technology (IT) Specialist. My skills as the sister of an IT specialist (thanks, Sean!) would get me nowhere in Canada, but at AVOH they are undeniable, seeing as only one employee knew how to turn on a computer when I got here. I have given several "formations" on the basics of using a computer to five students (my secondary homologues, if you will). We've managed to move on to Microsoft Word, Excel, and finally the internet and this week we will go through all their computer's files (it is an old Pentium II computer with back-dated files from 2005) and organise them in folders and sub-folders. The secretary, Nathalie Sawadogo (she was the only one who could turn a computer on and off) was ecstatic at the fact that she will only have to spend one minute to find whatever document she wants. And when she goes on maternity leave (she's pregnant) the other kids will be able run the ship.

I keep reminding them to create the habit of turning the computer on every morning and starting to use it for their everyday tasks, namely accounting (I taught them how to draft excel worksheets for accounting – formulas and all) and documenting all meetings with the computer, etc...

After the IT pseudo-mandate is completed (this Friday), we will move on to the marketing side. Because I've been working with the five young workers in IT, I've decided to include them in all marketing aspects as well, seeing as they are the future of the association, thus responsible for carrying on after I am gone. We will have marketing meetings with "the team" almost every day, and I will have each person take their turn for typing the minutes of each meeting into the computer, to better develop their typing and text treatment skills. Hopefully it will stick after I'm gone.

So that's when the fun stuff will happen – we will be designing a new logo – a standard one that will show up on all official documents and packaging alike – and will also develop an information brochure that we can send to aid organisations and clients alike... Anyone interested in investing in this fantastic Association. We will also draft a list of all important events in the country – anything we can send one or two representatives to with samples and brochures – to spread the word. I plan on attending a few while I'm here and then letting them take the reins soon after... Word of mouth seems to be the most efficient marketing technique here.

So that's about it – I'm hoping you are all doing well and enjoying your summer... I sure am.

Until next time, be safe and take care!

Afton

Blog posts

So apparently my friends and family can't comment on this blog, so I've decided to include all blog posts on my facebook page, under "notes". This way you can comment easily without having the hassle of signing your life away...

Lots of love and Happy reading!

Afton

Getting into the groove... Slowly but surely?

So it's been a few weeks now and I'm finally getting into the groove. It has taken me a good two weeks to get the internet at my house (which includes all four visits we made to the government owned store named "ONATEL"... where it took not one but THREE workers to finally figure out what we needed to get connected. So I'm home now and trying to connect, and SURPRISE! It doesn't work! At this point Rogers cable looks like paradise. Lol. I never thought I'd say that. Ever.

So that's the internet... And no, I'm still not connected. Even after paying close to $70 Canadian, which is the equivalent of two pre-paid months of internet and the hardware needed to get connected. Good stuff.

So the taxis here are crazy. I know everyone is going to think, "But Afton, you can't be so prejudiced about the taxis there... I'm sure they're not ALL bad..." Hear me now... THEY ARE ALL BAD! Empirical evidence: Today I almost got run over by one... When it was MY right of way!! So thank goodness I braked fast enough to avoid hitting him or falling with the bike... All I have to show for this close call is a bruise on my left calf. I promise I will take a picture when I get a better internet connection and post it. If any of you have ever seen my rugby bruises... and those are bad enough... This is worse. But I'll gladly take it over actually getting into an accident.

So the food here (in Bobo) is waaay better than Ouaga. There was this restaurant in Ouaga that I mentioned in an earlier blog post – Paradisio... I would call it "le meilleur place dans le monde"... until I ate at Sidwaya in Bobo. Their petit poids are insanely good – and they don't even cost $2! They braise all kinds of things too – fish, chicken, filet, etc... I stick with the fish, though, since their "poulet byciclette" resembles %$#@ on a stick... hee hee...

So my neighbours' kids now have a new nickname... Gremlins (see picture). No really, I'm not kidding. You know how the gremlins would just botch whatever they could? Just to be annoying? That's what these kids do... And I took a picture of them when they all tried to mount my motorcycle at the same time a few weeks ago... Hilarious!

So today at ONATEL we spent a good 3 hours waiting for the entire store to get us internet... Let me tell you what customer service is like in Bobo-Dioulasso: You walk into the empty store and NO ONE comes to greet you/make you feel welcome/acknowledge you at all. Everyone in this country has at least two cell phones, so if the workers are not flapping their gums on those, they are "too busy" rifling through useless paperwork. So when we finally got someone to help us (who just happened to be a larger than life African woman wearing a Bright Royal blue mumu and matching headdress... I swear this blog writes itself), she insisted on interrupting us by answering her obnoxious cell phone in the middle of our explanation. At that point I was already thinking about how I would write this particular situation on my blog, when she asked me to take a photocopy of my id... Because every other store in the country has a photocopier and it is completely normal if not expected that the employees take the id and photocopy it themselves, I asked if she could make the photocopy. She then replied, "Well... that would mean I would have to get up and go do it...", so then I said smugly in English, "Oh, so you would have to MOVE to do it... NOW I understand why you can't make the photocopy!! It's all very clear now!!"... She was looking at me like I had two heads... And she still didn't budge. Very funny. So then my saint of a roommate went all the way down the street and took a photocopy of my id just so this woman could remain immobile. Unbelievable.