6.23.08

Pics from the bike market in Accra-

About two weeks worth of updates – here goes.

I’ll conveniently split this into three categories – the container and shops, the physically challenged trainees, and the development of project management.

Currently I’m in Accra, drinking good coffee, about to head into Accra Central to the VAT (value added tax) office to follow the progression of the container paperwork through the government offices. Last week, we went to Social Welfare to get a letter endorsing EEFSA for exemption of tax and duties from the container. The letter from Social Welfare then went to Finance for approval, with Finance sending an approval letter to VAT. This seems pretty simple, right – a challenge of perseverance and patience to be brief, but a relative success. This week, we grab the bull by the inter-modal container corners and bring it up to Koforidua. Next after VAT is CEPS and then Customs, the port. This will probably take the rest of the week. I’ll be in and out of Accra and Tema to do the deed with the support of Hilda, EEFSA secretary, who has previous experience clearing containers. I’ll be crashing with my old friends who rent a room in Tema – about 5 of us sprawled over 2-inch foam pads, packed like sardines in the tiny room. Personal space is public – I think this makes for good mental health – standard in communal societies.

Back in Koforidua, we’ve got Alex and Frank, the EEFSA guys, preparing the stores for the container arrival and getting some folks together to help unpack. We secured the 3 storerooms with a partial deposit, and we’ve got a lot more to pay, but this will come in time – thankfully the landlord is a great guy and supportive of our venture. The way we want to set things up is like this: one store on the street-side in the absolute center of town – awesome location, two stores in the back that will make up the workshops, parts storage and temporary bike storage for build-up candidates and repairs. We will also lay a concrete patio with a canopy out back, to bring some of our daily operation outside. We are still working on securing a location for a 20 ft container on-site, and possibly a 40 ft container very close-by for extra storage. For the time-being, we are going to use the front store as bike storage while we set-up the workshop and begin the training.

Regarding the trainees, I’m in love, but love is blind, so I’ll be tough and critical. They are awesome though. A formal selection has not yet been made, but we’ve got about 15 people seriously interested – 1/3 women. We will conduct interviews next week to assess motivations, skills, and commitment. There are so many income-generating projects that come through Ghana Society for the Physically Disabled (GSPD), and many of them never come to fruition, or don’t last due to many complex reasons including lack of continuous funding, lack of market for products and lack of commitment and effective leadership. Many physically challenged people have found small niches in the local commerce market in which to generate a modest living such as running a small store or selling food, crafts or services. Others have paid employment as teachers or IT technicians, while still others are in school furthering their education for better job opportunities. Many don’t have any work, sometimes due to the extent of their disabilities, and many are in the street begging – less so in Koforidua, more so in the bigger cities. This project has generated a lot of interest, but if we are going to stick to it, make it happen, make it sustainable, who will be the ones with the long-haul commitment? –definitely a collaboration of EEFSA and the physically challenged stakeholders.

I see the success of the project from two angles – the measurable and the un-measurable. The measurable are the physical workshop set-up, the location related to market demand, the ability to get bikes, fix them well and sell them, the quality of the training and the level of skill and knowledge the trainees acquire, the structure and strategy of effective business management and marketing. The un-measurable are the relationships, the extent to which people are committed to the project and have a direct stake in its success, the extent to which people trust each other and the management, the level of effective communication between interest groups within the project, the balance between independence and cooperation, the amount of responsibility people are willing and able to take-on, which relates to their skill development and self-empowerment, among other things.

Both the measurable and the un-measurable are critical to the success of the project. If the measurable is in place, this does not guarantee that the un-measurable will be, and vice-versa. This project for me is a balance between the two – making sure things get done and employing participatory methods wherever possible in order to accomplish the measurable, but being continually aware of the quality of relationships being established, the dynamics between the project stakeholders and interest groups, and assessing the human component of what this project means to people, and guiding it to become something that all stakeholders will be willing to sacrifice for in order to see succeed, grow and develop. The un-measurable cannot be directed, but it can be facilitated, stimulated to grow.

I met with the potential trainees at Jackson Park, their wheelchair basketball training grounds. I sat-in while they conducted their regular meeting, hashing-out the relationship between the basketball team leadership and the leadership of GSPD, and making plans toward the July 1st competition between Eastern Region (our team) and Asante Region. We discussed details of the project with many questions about how the training will be organized. The interest and motivation seems strong and genuine now. We will work with it and see how it evolves. We expect the training to begin mid-July, and will have a succession of meetings and preparatory workshops leading up to that time.

The development of the project management is complicated. I’m caught-up in the day-to-day impressions and need to step back and see the project from the broad perspective – a balancing act of emotion and reason. I am doing my best to work effectively with EEFSA folks, and we are making progress in terms of sharing responsibility, establishing work-roles and project leadership. We are organizing a project task force that will be composed of Martin, Alex and Frank from EEFSA (Emmanuel when he is available), myself from BNB, and two representatives from the trainees. This will be a temporary leadership committee that has upon it the task of organizing the project efficiently and effectively. At the end of the training, more management power will be granted the physically challenged mechanics, the primary stakeholder of this project.