Zomba

Work continues and intensifies as i begin to get into the swing of the work here and i now have the outline plans for a corporate event towards the end of September which will cover developing effective leadership, performance management and coaching as a management tool.  On the 30th August I will be running a workshop for the SME sector on 'survival strategies in a turbulent economic environment' which will provide these small business's with some tools to better manage their cash flow and increase their sales.  On the 5th September we are getting the whole of the BCA team together to develop our own strategic plan to assist in  maintaining a viable and sustainable entity beyond the end of the project.

work on developing our apprentice consultant team also continues with the next module delivery this coming Friday.  I have also ran a separate session on learning styles and we all now know that we have a team of mainly reflectors!  Next week I will be running another mini teach on influencing styles and an introduction to some additional consulting models ( Ansoff's product-market growth matrix and the Boston Matrix.

Friday evening found us in Mustang Sally's (what! again I hear you cry) just to refresh the soul with a couple of Kucha Kucha beers and a Braai.  I opted for the chicken Braai this time instead of the T bone which was OK but I was a little disappointed to find all the salad had gone so I sat and ate my piece of chicken on its own and despite my protestations no offer of a discount on the price was forthcoming.

Saturday

having cooked myself a couple of drop scones for breakfast we headed off in Daisy (the team vehicle) to do some shopping at Shoprite which seemed to be mainly bottles of Kutcha Kutcha, carlsberg green and red wine!   having stocked up on essential supplies we took a trip to limbe, a vibrant town just outside of Blantyre and drove through the bustling market full of its stalls of second hand shoes, clothes, food and an assortment of other wares for sale. Arriving back home at the Big Brother house there was a wedding in process next door so we had a quick whip round for the bride and groom and took some sweets and a couple of balls for the kids we had purchased earlier on our shopping trip.  The family gave us a warm welcome and dancing and waling commenced as the slightly stunned looking couple were brought from the house and presented to us.  we were asked to pose with the couple while relatives took lots of pictures on their mobile phones and then we headed back next door  and sat on the lawn drinking red wine as the sun sank below the garden wall.  The evening once again found us in Mustang Sally's but not too late a night as we were haeding off to Zomba for the day in the morning.

Sunday

By 10am we were heading out through the iron gates of our compound onto Naperi road then over 'deaths' crossroad and up victoria avenue on past the Blantyre sports and social club and then heading north easterly up the road to Zomba and Zomba plateau (top picture)

Zomba is a city in southern Malawi in the Shire highlands and was the first  Capital of British Central Africa and then Nayasaland prior to the establishment of the republic of Malawi in 1964. we stopped to look at the memorial erected to the fallen of the two world wars of the officers and men of the kings African Rifles, a well maintained monument with its long lists of the dead, a substantial number of whom are reported of dying of disease.

we drove up the road towards the top of the Zomba Massif which stands at 2087 meteres and covers an area of 130 square Km.  As we ascended we passed through rich vegetation of african Juniper and widringtonia.  Wild baboons (not sure of the species) sat by the road watching us pass and providing a photo opportunity (picture above).  all along the road people ran after our vehicle trying to sell us bowls of potato's, strawberries, banana's and crystals.  we did buy some strawberries which were large and juicy and very cheap but you just can't buy it all. These people stay by the road all day in the hope of selling their few provisions and gaining a little Kwatcha (malawi currency) as their income.  A humbling thought that 90% of the population survive on around $1  per day, or about 60 pence!!  At the top of the road we reached the Sunbird hotel where we sat out on the terraced gardens and had a lunch of Greek salad (minus the olives!) and a couple of beers before taking the scenic road back down and south to Blantyre aiming to arrive home before nightfall as the roads are precarious enough during daylight let alone in the pitch dark where people still crowd the roads but with no lights and no reflective clothing.

Another weekend over and back to work tomorrow but already planning a trip to the tea plantations for next weekend.  Will update you all again in a few days.