settling in and starting work

Well, we managed to get some fuel on Sunday so had a drive around Blantyre, my colleagues showing me the best places to have coffee and pick up freshly baked croisants.  Had a look around the medical college sports club and the Blantyre sports and social club as I am looking to join one where i can enjoy the pool and relax after a days work.  Having had a wander around we decided to do a bit of shopping and spend the afternoon back at the house having a Braai (pronounced bry) the south african name for a BBQ.  The charcoal was soon hot and the chicken cooked beautifully which we enjoyed with a lovely fresh salad and rice and of course.... a fair bit of red wine.

Monday was my first propper day in the office and having been briefed by the programme manager on my duties for the next two months I headed off to the hotel Victoria to join the junior consultants from CBE (Capacity Building for Enterprise) who were conducting a workshop for a client over which I would now be taking on the role of lead consultant.  The client GTPA (Grain Traders and Processors Association) are an organization set up to represent those in the grain trade by lobbying government, identifying markets and gaining contracts for its members and providing training and networking  opportunities. We are working with them to help develop an effective strategy to sustain and grow their organization and to maximise on the benefits they can offer to members. We had a good day and now need to consolidate all our collected data in readiness to present to the board who we will then work with to develop and implement their strategic plan.

Yesterday and today have provided me the first opportunity to sit at my desk and start to plan my workload for the next 8 weeks. I need to look at organizing the modules for the Diploma in Consultancy for the trainees which will be delivered over a three hour session each Friday morning, the progression of the work with GTPA needs to be scheduled and I am starting to look at identifying new opportunities for our business pipeline, getting meetings organised with local business to do an initial diagnostic and proposal. All in all enough to stop me getting bored!

This morning I was up at 6am to run my colleague down to the bus station to catch a coach to Lilongwe where he is working until the weekend.  The early start gave me the chance to call in to the Malawi Sun hotel and buy breakfast of black coffee and fresh croissant from the 'Bread Basket' a lovely little bakery with that wonderful smell of fresh baked bread and fresh coffee.  i sat outside on a chair borrowed from a member of staff and ate my breakfast as I watched the sun rise over the hazy tops of the green hills east of Blantyre (Picture at the top of this page)


Either need to get some shopping done tonight to get something to go with the large bag of rice I have in the house or maybe take a trip down to Mustang Sally's and have dinner and a pint?   Hoping to get out somewhere this weekend and have some interesting pictures and more information for you.  until then take care all.
ps. it was with some irony I sat watching TV last night sipping my gin and tonic and thinking about the concern of family and friends for my wellbeing whilst visiting sub saharan Africa and although I may be enclosed in a compound with high walls and an electric fence it is back home from where the news is sending me pictures of the devestation from civil riots and the breakdown of law and order!!