6.2.08

Back and forth, back and forth we’ve gone on the storefront, weighing the pros and cons of each, and as a matter of financial prudence, and a bit of advice and inspiration from Torsutsey, we’ve chosen the less expensive location in the center of town. Our reasons for this are primarily financial – the other storefront ended up costing much more than we expected – but also the result of a visit to the site with Torsutsey, the Secretary of the Eastern Region Ghana Association of the Physically Disabled (GAPD), and local Koforidua leader. Torsutsey is responsible for identifying physically challenged people in the Koforidua area who are interested in becoming mechanics with the shop, and Torsutsey himself will be trained as one of the mechanics. Emmanuel and I will attend the regional meeting of GAPD next Saturday to meet with those interested and to discuss details of the project and business.

The day I met Torsutsey, my vision of the project opened up to include the reality of the people who will be its heart. Torsutsey, a natural leader and incredible person, came to meet me at the EEFSA office to discuss the project, and this was when we were all pasted with indecision regarding the storefronts. One was less beautiful, less expensive, more urban. The other was too beautiful, too expensive, and less urban. I wanted to see the urban storefront from Torsutsey’s eyes, so I invited him to visit me there. We joined a taxi, and in 5 minutes we got down at the junction and walked to the location. As we crossed the street, Torsutsey expertly navigated the curbs and open sewers with his crutches. I asked him if it hurt his shoulders and arm pits to move so fast with crutches, and he told me that at first it did, but now it doesn’t. Torsutsey has a similar physical condition as Emmanuel, with one very strong leg, and the other severely underdeveloped.

We got to the store and Torsustey’s face was bright as he told me that this was an excellent location, right in the center of town, there will be so many customers, and it will be easy for the physically challenged employees to get to – they will only have to join one taxi and not two (I hadn’t thought of that before, but it was a critical point). I tried to criticize the storefront and to highlight its negative aspects, and was continually convinced by Torsutsey that it was workable, and that we can make an awesome wheelchair accessible workshop here. I realize that the storage is minimal, and that there will be challenges getting a container on site (I think the best we can do is a 20ft container on site and at least one 40ft container off-site). It was settled in my mind – the urban storefront. To be discussed later with Emmanuel and the EEFSA executives…

I asked Torsutsey where he was headed, and he told me he’s going home – a taxi I asked, and he said I’ll walk. I then joined Torsustey on the way to his home, we literally passed 10 ft at a time before someone would greet Torsutsey from across the road, and someone else would slap his hand and joke with him, or talk to him about local matters. Torsutsey knew everybody, and everyone knew him, and he was loved, but he also loved.

We walked for about 15 minutes and arrived at Torsutsey’s home, a small room shared with his aging father in a small compound packed with rented rooms. Torsutsey showed me his trade – bead jewelery-making. His materials were sprawled over a small stool, and he was weaving and tying beaded strings to make very nice local necklaces and bracelets – each with one fat bead threaded over the woven band. Torsutsey’s sole means of income is selling these beads every Thursday at the large market at Jackson Park in Koforidua. Torsutsey looked at me and said, this is all I have, I have to do it. I am a poor man.

Torsutsey has a Secondary School Education, is a regional leader for the Physically Challenged, and a local friend to his whole neighborhood, and because of his disability, he cannot get work to provide him more income. Torsutsey has serious manager potential. In fact, and in reality, this project is going to change lives. I did a rough estimate of business plan financials yesterday, and with the number of donated containers of bikes from BNB and procured from Emmanuel’s other contacts, this business could thrive, putting money in the bank and paying off the rent loan to the bank and the total start-up debt to EEFSA in five years. We’re not, however, going to overestimate the business’s potential, we are going to work our asses off to make this work.

The next day, I wake up, exercise, stroll into town, visit the office. Emmanuel is going to Accra… opportunity. Emmanuel is working on getting a US visa for his daughter to join the family on their trip to the US in late June. It’s me, young Linda, Hilda in the back, Frank and Emmanuel in front. I’m sharing reggae on my ipod with Linda, reading the welding reference book Alex gave me, and enjoying the breeze and the view. You can see all the way to the coast from the top of Aburi mountain.

My plan: visit the old boss at Peace Corps, go to the tool market and get my personal set of bike tools, visit George and Samson from Village Bicycle Project (VBP). Peace Corps went smooth, though I was struck with the oversensitive security measures they took with me. Back on the street. It’s nice to be free in Ghana. I join the car heading to Accra central – the market, oh the Accra market, time to grow some skin. Get down and walk into the sea of people, sounds, smells, obstacles and cars parting the people like water as they pass. Deeper in, a row of hundreds of people holding cheap clothes looking for eye contact so they can grab your arm and try to sell you their goods. Intense but I love it. I remember my old path to Katamanto, the building material and tool market. This is actually less hectic, and organized into storefronts lining the streets. I stop in a few places, pick up a strong hacksaw, some combination wrenches, adjustables, pliers, screwdriver and phillips. I see some arc welding machines, no migs. I call George, get the directions to his place, and head out.
La Paz, a sprawling part of town with some big highways, gas stations, and commerce, as well as the VBP base. I meet Samson on the road and then see George – good reunion. VBP has increased its productivity and storage, with George and Samson each leading workshops simultaneously at different locations. I’ve got lots of questions about the bike market, and more time to ask – since its late in the day, I asked George if I could crash at his place and he was more than hospitable. We stopped by his wife’s house for a meal of rice, stew, and local tuna, and then went to George’s house in the Central Region of Ghana (about an hour drive), George’s hometown. Due to inflation of the cedi, people usually buy building materials and build houses instead of saving money in the bank. It often takes 5 – 10 years until the house is built, but in the end it is worth more that the cash. We stayed at George’s house in progress, out of the city, in the beautiful farmland. George had a bike in every room – yeah.

The next morning, we went back to the VBP base in La Paz and got down to business. George and Samson told me their strategy of selling bikes to local sellers, of selling bikes to individuals, of buying bike parts in the Accra market, and offered their contacts if we ever need to buy parts in bulk. I now have a good sense of what the used bikes are worth on the local market, based on their varying quality, and on the amount of work we put into them. We may be able to sell some bikes that we don’t work on to other bike shops in Koforidua at reduced rates. If we build the bikes up top quality, then we’re gonna charge what the bikes and shop time are worth. One market strategy is to sell bikes that are well built, so the reputation of the shop will travel and secure our customer base. Based on the used bikes that I’ve seen in the market, we will easily be able to meet our mark of being the shop that offers the best quality used bikes in Koforidua, and in the whole region.