May 7, 2008

Today we were back at the orphanage installing the pump the there, which has taken us longer than expected due to some new issues in the installation process. However, we have overcome those issues and were able to take two potential technicians with us for a training/evaluation process. The people at the orphanage are becoming quite accustomed to us being there every day. The women who runs it, Maria Felicidade, calls me over all the time to tell me things about the orphanage or what she’s making the kids for lunch, etc. She calls me “brutha Charlie” and she can’t seem to remember Dave’s name even though it appears a biblical name like David would be easy, but we that seems to be a pattern so we thought about introducing Dave by some other easier name like Joao da Beira da Felicidade da Paz.

Here is a picture of the group.

May 6, 2008

Today, Dave and I worked on our business plan and met with Efigenia and the accountant to help them set up a general ledger that can be shared on the Internet with the Ascend headquarters in Salt Lake. Helping them tediously punch in a stack of receipts confirmed my lack of desire to be an accountant, but it was worth it to help them start organizing their finances. The accountant’s name is Gimo and he happens to be a member of the Church. He was the first member to be baptized in Mozambique. He and his brother were sent to Communist countries to study and his brother joined the Church in East Germany. Gimo studied in Cuba and when he returned his brother taught him the gospel and developed a following of believers even though there were no official missionaries in the country. Eventually, missionaries were sent from the South Africa mission and the Church officially began in Mozambique.

Tonight we dropped off Ben, the Ethiopian intern, at the airport. He told us that he was not looking forward to spending a few days with two MBA interns because he thought we would be boring so weleft him a little surprise in his carry on – we figured he could use it if he doesn’t find his bags in Maputo.

After going to the airport we stopped to eat at little restaurant and had a great conversation with Efigenia and the pump operation. The past two times we have gone to restaurants like this we see the waitress leave after we order and come back about five minutes later with a box – we’re pretty sure that the box contains a live chicken, a few potatoes, and a few cans of Coke (exactly what we ordered).

March 5, 2008

Stephanie wanted to know what a typical day is like here so here is a run down of what things have been like the past few days. We get up early and get to work about 8:00 a.m. and usually get back around 6:00 p.m. So far we have spent the days out in the field digging wells, observing the logistical details of running the organization, and interviewing all of those involved in the organization. In the coming days we plan to spend a little more time in the office writing up some of our ideas and meeting with people. Tomorrow, we have a meeting with the accountant and the regional manager, Dave and I may split up to try and divide and conquer a little more.

Jack has been doing all of the cooking and does a great job at it. He seems happy to have someone to cook for as he has been living here alone since February. After dinner we have been spending the evening discussing the operation, strategizing, taking turns using the Internet, and teasing Ben about wearing a bed sheet around (Ben is the Intern visiting Moz on his way to Ethiopia – both of his bags were lost and he has been washing his clothes every night and leaving them in front of the fan to dry). Ben leaves tomorrow night though and I received my bag today so we feel we’re losing our entertainment. We watched a movie Saturday night using the Ascend projector, but for the most part have been busy until 11:00 or 12:00.

The first picture shows Eric and Felipe bottom right to left) helping Ben (on top) tie down the wheel barrow for the one and a half to two hour drive to the orphanage in Tica. The second picture shows Ben in his moo moo dress.

So this is Dave in our room. The light blue lacey things hanging from the ceiling are mosquito nets. Someone commented the other night that they felt like a princess with the lacey netting draped around them at night, then Ben the intern going to Ethiopia, arrived and said the bed made him feel like Elton John and started singing Elton John songs – I think part of it might have been the 36 hour flight speaking.
If you are wondering where the beds are we are currently sleeping on mattresses on the floor because the bunk beds that were here were so wobbly that we were afraid they would fall apart in the middle of the night. Efigenia and Felipe arranged for a man to come and fix the beds so they disassembled them and have been “fixing them” for the past three days – I’m trying to think of a logical reason why it is taking them three days, but there isn’t one. We should have done it ourselves.

I mentioned yesterday that we went to the orphanage in Tica and were greeted with a grand welcoming ceremony. Felipe went around and introduced each of us and the head of the orphanage named Maria Felicidade related each of us to a scripture or something. Felipe introduced Dave and me as experts in management and administration and Maria Felicidade responded, “well, you are welcome here, so go ahead and administer away”. By the time Felipe got to the end of the line to introduce Ben, who had just arrived the night before and Felipe was at a loss for words and said, “This is Ben… he…is… uh… he… is … a master pump builder!” We tried not to laugh because even though Ben has never dug a well or ever built a pump in his life Felipe was totally serious.

May 3, 2008 (cont.)

We received quite the welcome when we arrived in the town and plenty of people stopped by to watch. We allowed them to help so that we didn't ahve to do the digging. They were quite excited about the pump and the women who runs the orphanage started to quote scriptures of Jesus and the well in Samaria and related it to us, which was kind of sweet until she went over board saying what chacters we each were in the Bible -- Jack was Jesus and luckily she stopped before she said who the Samaritan women was. We had to dig the well pretty deep so I was wondering if she should have quoted Moses making water come from the rock.

May 3, 2008

Today we went to Tica to install a well at an orphanage. The women who runs the well found out about us because her husband purchased two wells and those are being put in by Adolpho (mentioned yesterday). On our way home we purchased two kilos of giant prawns from a vendor on the side of the road and Jack made Shrimp curry that was awesome. These prawns were the biggest I’ve ever seen and tasted really good.
Last night we picked up another intern from the airport (Ben). He is on his way to Ethiopia and will be working with us for a few days to learn about the wells and pumps before he goes to Ethiopia. We have been making fun of him tonight because he is wearing a bed sheet around while his clothes dry (both of his bags got lost). Of course, I can’t laugh too much because I have had clothes strung all over today that I am trying to dry since one of my bags was lost too; however, I am not wearing a lava lava or a moo moo around. Anyway, he’s fun to have around and is a good sport about our teasing.

In the Field

First let me introduce the crew here. Dave is a fellow MBA student. Efigenia is the regional manager and Felipe is her assistant. They live here in Beira and have been working with Ascend for about a year. Felipe speaks English pretty well and helps translate for Efigenia.
Aldalpho is the first entrepreneur who we will be working with to get his business going. He is a member of the Church and seems to be very sharp. He is pretty motivated and works hard.
Jack is a retired man who has been here for four months working with Ascend. He is an engineer and knows a lot about the pumps and what Ascend is trying to do here. He has lived all over the world volunteering with Ascend.
Eric is an undergraduate student doing a year-long internship here. He is also working with an NGO called Care for Life and will be working with agribusinesses to improve their gardens.
Efigenia, the regional manager spent the morning at the bank while the rest of us went to Lingao with Felipe, Adalpho, Jack, and Eric. We saw a pump that Adalpho installed yesterday and helped him get another one started. These are the first two pumps that he has sold and is being paid to install. He has been in training with Ascend for the past few months and is ready to get started making money. We are tasked developing a business plan for him that can be replicated for several other water technicians like him.
The drive to Lingao was about an hour on terrible dirt roads and made me grateful for a government that develops the infrastructure of the country. Although the drive was long the countryside was rather pretty and green – the rainy season just ended here.
In addition to visiting Adalpho’s work site we visited a previous site where Ascend installed a pump at a women’s house (her name is Maria). In talking to the town officials of Lingao to get permission to work there Ascend asked who would benefit from one of the pumps and the officials gave Ascend Maria’s name. Maria is a widow with children, who had land (I think the land was given to her in a homesteading type manner), but she did not have a house or any means to develop the land. Ascend installed a pump and within a few days she had land cleared for planting and her neighbors helped build a house for her on the land. She takes good care of her garden and it seems as though she sees the real potential in having water to take care of the land. She has planted several things and is anxiously waiting to have produce to sell so she can plant more and expand her garden.
We spent the afternoon running errands and trying to collect all the materials needed to install a pump tomorrow in a town called Tica (70 Km from Beira). We realized quickly the logistics issues in gathering all of the materials and getting technicians to work sites with all the proper tools and materials. I know that sounds easy, but in a developing country that is not as easy as it sounds. So far this appears to be one of the bottlenecks in allowing the technicians to sell and install a high volume of pumps. We are working on some solutions to this as well as some of the other issue in creating this business.

Hello

The blog is yet to come so hold on.