Dear Blog,
Being a credit union coach is a pretty easy task when the credit union you are visiting is functioning well. In that case it is a matter of observing operations, talking to staff and board members, making a few suggestions, and offering congratulations. This week we are dealing with the flip side of that equation -- a credit union with significant issues that is offering us major challenges.
We have been here only for one day but there are significant issues. First, the credit union has more than 30% of their loans delinquent. Their capital base and reserves are weak and the delinquency alone could bankrupt them. Secondly, a simple cash count three months ago found a cash shortage equal to 10% of the credit union's assets. Attempts are being made to recover the money. Third, an unauthorized business was being run out the back door with a fleet of motorcycles which has now been shut down. Finally, the entire Board was forced to step down in disgrace.
The new Board has a good attitude but needs mentors. The poor manager. She is shell shocked. When we arrived, saying "We are here to help," she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She is committed, but not properly trained and was bullied by her Board. We will give her some tools and assistance and will work with the new board over the next period of time to provide some help. With some work, the business can be turned around. We took this assignment because we like challenges. I really hope that we can help this credit union turn things around.
At lunch today I was served what looked like tomato soup. On closer inspection, I saw two tails and two eye balls sticking out of the broth. To honour my host, I tried the soup and grimaced. A big thank you to Ramona for throwing into my suitcase some granola bars and rice cakes for situations like today. I could never cut it on Fear Factor.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Dear Blog,
Today is Saturday. We were stuck in some brutal road work construction on our way to the board meeting to deliver our written report. The roadside merchants saw this as an opportunity. When they saw two "obroni" or "whitemen" in the car, they saw this as a "blessing from God." We only know about twelve words and phrases so far in "Twi" - the local language. Ghanaians don't expect the obroni to know any of their language. As the merchants came to our car we were able to say to them Twi phrases such as "How are you?" "I am fine." "What is your name?" "My name is Yaw Barry"(terrible name), "Yes - it is good, but no thank you," etc. The reaction is terrific. The person always stops... in surprise. Then they have a good laugh at the obroni's pronunciation. They want to know how much of their language we know. Where did we learn it? Then they stay and we talk in a combination of Twi and English.
The children - selling all sorts of things from baskets on their heads - started shrieking in fun yelling "The obroni are speaking Twi!" Afterwards, they hung around the truck talking to us and laughing for a long time. One woman asked that I take her to my home in Canada. I told her that Ramona wouldn't be pleased. The traffic moved on and so did our day. The Ghanaian people are wonderfully friendly and generous.
Gene, my CCA partner, also has a blog. The main difference between his and mine is that he has pictures of our adventures and travels. My blog has better stories. My blog is generally better. However, if you would like to check his out - his blog address is www.opensourcecu.com
Tomorrow we rest.
Today is Saturday. We were stuck in some brutal road work construction on our way to the board meeting to deliver our written report. The roadside merchants saw this as an opportunity. When they saw two "obroni" or "whitemen" in the car, they saw this as a "blessing from God." We only know about twelve words and phrases so far in "Twi" - the local language. Ghanaians don't expect the obroni to know any of their language. As the merchants came to our car we were able to say to them Twi phrases such as "How are you?" "I am fine." "What is your name?" "My name is Yaw Barry"(terrible name), "Yes - it is good, but no thank you," etc. The reaction is terrific. The person always stops... in surprise. Then they have a good laugh at the obroni's pronunciation. They want to know how much of their language we know. Where did we learn it? Then they stay and we talk in a combination of Twi and English.
The children - selling all sorts of things from baskets on their heads - started shrieking in fun yelling "The obroni are speaking Twi!" Afterwards, they hung around the truck talking to us and laughing for a long time. One woman asked that I take her to my home in Canada. I told her that Ramona wouldn't be pleased. The traffic moved on and so did our day. The Ghanaian people are wonderfully friendly and generous.
Gene, my CCA partner, also has a blog. The main difference between his and mine is that he has pictures of our adventures and travels. My blog has better stories. My blog is generally better. However, if you would like to check his out - his blog address is www.opensourcecu.com
Tomorrow we rest.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Dear Blog,
I don't like my Ghanaian name. Gene's is much better. In Ghana, when a baby is born it is not named for the first week. During that time, the community refers to the baby by the day of the week on which it was born. People then keep that name as a prefix to their given name forever. I had to look up the day of the week I was born which was a Thursday. Ramona, my wife, was born on Tuesday - I looked it up, I am sure she doesn't remember. I don't like my name. Gene's is better. He was born on a Friday. The word for Friday is Kofi. Kofi Gene. Kofi - like Kofi Annan - retired Secretary General of the United Nations. Kofi Annan is from Ghana. He is a hero here.... revered. What makes it worse is that Gene is the third born of three sons. So he gets to add the word Mensa. Which of course sounds smart. He is introduced as Kofi Mensa Gene. Very impressive. I am a Thursdy man and am introduced as Yow Barry. Yow - it sounds like "cow." I'm not talking to Gene right now.
The economy here is terrible. You can see it in the exchange rate. One U.S. dollar will buy you about 10,000 cedis. Let me pick a commodity that is available world wide to give you a sense of the cost of living. One domestic beer, purchased in a bar, will cost 8,000 cedis or about 80 cents. A credit union manager, supervising a full time staff, reporting to a board of directors, preparing financial statements and dealing with the regulator will earn 150,000 cedis a month or about $150 per month. This is less than $5 per day.
Before leaving for Ghana, Ramona gave me a large bag of school supplies to give to a local school. The credit union we were working at today had a primary school across the street. 500+ children in school uniforms, no shoes and playing outside. I presented the gifts as being from my generous wife in Canada. They were very, very appreciative.
My health is good. I feel great. I have decided that I need to drink more beer... for medicinal reasons. Have a good weekend.
I don't like my Ghanaian name. Gene's is much better. In Ghana, when a baby is born it is not named for the first week. During that time, the community refers to the baby by the day of the week on which it was born. People then keep that name as a prefix to their given name forever. I had to look up the day of the week I was born which was a Thursday. Ramona, my wife, was born on Tuesday - I looked it up, I am sure she doesn't remember. I don't like my name. Gene's is better. He was born on a Friday. The word for Friday is Kofi. Kofi Gene. Kofi - like Kofi Annan - retired Secretary General of the United Nations. Kofi Annan is from Ghana. He is a hero here.... revered. What makes it worse is that Gene is the third born of three sons. So he gets to add the word Mensa. Which of course sounds smart. He is introduced as Kofi Mensa Gene. Very impressive. I am a Thursdy man and am introduced as Yow Barry. Yow - it sounds like "cow." I'm not talking to Gene right now.
The economy here is terrible. You can see it in the exchange rate. One U.S. dollar will buy you about 10,000 cedis. Let me pick a commodity that is available world wide to give you a sense of the cost of living. One domestic beer, purchased in a bar, will cost 8,000 cedis or about 80 cents. A credit union manager, supervising a full time staff, reporting to a board of directors, preparing financial statements and dealing with the regulator will earn 150,000 cedis a month or about $150 per month. This is less than $5 per day.
Before leaving for Ghana, Ramona gave me a large bag of school supplies to give to a local school. The credit union we were working at today had a primary school across the street. 500+ children in school uniforms, no shoes and playing outside. I presented the gifts as being from my generous wife in Canada. They were very, very appreciative.
My health is good. I feel great. I have decided that I need to drink more beer... for medicinal reasons. Have a good weekend.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Dear Blog,
It was my turn to be sick. The night before last and yesterday I have been dealing with diareah, chills and nausea. I brought some medication with me and went to bed yesterday at noon and slept to 4:00 p.m. I think it was a combination of jet lag and some contaminated food. Today I feel much better.
Earlier this week Gene and I were invited to watch a very important soccer game. The Ghanaian team, called the Black Stars, were playing the Nigerian team, called the Screaming Eagles. The game was played in London and broadcast throughout Ghana. Ghana has not beat Nigeria since 1992. Crowds of people were gathered around small TV sets in the street. Ghana won the game with a score of 4 to 1. You can imagine the cheering. I went to bed with the sounds of partying still going on around me.
We wrapped up our first credit union assignment. We met with the board of directors and the manager and presented our four page written. We had fifteen recommendations dealing with areas such as governance, planning, financial and process. One interesting recommendation dealt with governance. We were advised by the credit union supervising body that in Africa, when someone rises to a position of influence, it is very difficult to have them step down at the end of their mandate, which is why there is a three term limit of (6 years) for directors. At the credit union we were working with - the board had not held an annual general meeting since 2003. The chair's term limit expired and didn't want to have to step down. Interesting. Did I mention it is hot and humid here? ... Right - I did.
It was my turn to be sick. The night before last and yesterday I have been dealing with diareah, chills and nausea. I brought some medication with me and went to bed yesterday at noon and slept to 4:00 p.m. I think it was a combination of jet lag and some contaminated food. Today I feel much better.
Earlier this week Gene and I were invited to watch a very important soccer game. The Ghanaian team, called the Black Stars, were playing the Nigerian team, called the Screaming Eagles. The game was played in London and broadcast throughout Ghana. Ghana has not beat Nigeria since 1992. Crowds of people were gathered around small TV sets in the street. Ghana won the game with a score of 4 to 1. You can imagine the cheering. I went to bed with the sounds of partying still going on around me.
We wrapped up our first credit union assignment. We met with the board of directors and the manager and presented our four page written. We had fifteen recommendations dealing with areas such as governance, planning, financial and process. One interesting recommendation dealt with governance. We were advised by the credit union supervising body that in Africa, when someone rises to a position of influence, it is very difficult to have them step down at the end of their mandate, which is why there is a three term limit of (6 years) for directors. At the credit union we were working with - the board had not held an annual general meeting since 2003. The chair's term limit expired and didn't want to have to step down. Interesting. Did I mention it is hot and humid here? ... Right - I did.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Dear blog,
Did I mention that I find it HOT here? Right ... I did. Gene, my CCA partner, had a terrible night. He was up all night vomiting and had serious diarhea. This morning he rested and joined me at the credit union looking pale and tired. He is on the mend but will need another day to recover.
We are in a small community called Bunso in the Eastern Region of Ghana. We found an Internet cafe about a twenty minute drive from work but, with the frequent power fluctuations and outages, it has been a challenge to send out an e-mail. The credit union itself has 700 members, four employees and assets of $400,000. Adelaide, the manager, participated in the CCA's women's mentoring program last year and enjoyed a cold two weeks at a credit union in Hudson Bay. She is happy to return the hospitality shown to her during her time in Canada. I was asked to describe my credit union. When I told the Chairman that we had 700+ employees, he said "Yes, yes...but how many workers do you have." I said, "That is the workers." He slapped his forehead and replied "Ayee - that is astonishing!"
We have spent a lot of time with the Board. The directors say that they are so busy with credit union duties that they don't feel like volunteers anymore. Having said that, they have not delegated any loan decision making authority or cash management authority to the manager. They want to learn and they want to know that it is OK to move into more of an oversight role. It is interesting work. We will be working with three small credit unions and spending three days with each. Tonight, we are preparing our written report for the board of this credit union and will also be watching Ghana play Nigeria in a hotly contested soccer game tonight on TV at a local community centre.
Did I mention that I find it HOT here? Right ... I did. Gene, my CCA partner, had a terrible night. He was up all night vomiting and had serious diarhea. This morning he rested and joined me at the credit union looking pale and tired. He is on the mend but will need another day to recover.
We are in a small community called Bunso in the Eastern Region of Ghana. We found an Internet cafe about a twenty minute drive from work but, with the frequent power fluctuations and outages, it has been a challenge to send out an e-mail. The credit union itself has 700 members, four employees and assets of $400,000. Adelaide, the manager, participated in the CCA's women's mentoring program last year and enjoyed a cold two weeks at a credit union in Hudson Bay. She is happy to return the hospitality shown to her during her time in Canada. I was asked to describe my credit union. When I told the Chairman that we had 700+ employees, he said "Yes, yes...but how many workers do you have." I said, "That is the workers." He slapped his forehead and replied "Ayee - that is astonishing!"
We have spent a lot of time with the Board. The directors say that they are so busy with credit union duties that they don't feel like volunteers anymore. Having said that, they have not delegated any loan decision making authority or cash management authority to the manager. They want to learn and they want to know that it is OK to move into more of an oversight role. It is interesting work. We will be working with three small credit unions and spending three days with each. Tonight, we are preparing our written report for the board of this credit union and will also be watching Ghana play Nigeria in a hotly contested soccer game tonight on TV at a local community centre.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Dear blog,
I found a Catholic church here in the capital. It's called St. James, the same name as my parish in Abbotsford. The English mass started at 7:30 a.m. and lasted two hours. I certainly stood out but the Ghanian people are friendly and made me feel welcome. If my church at home sang with half thevolume and energy of the mass I attended this morning, we would have a parish growing by leaps and bounds.
I have been assigned my Canadian partner to work with at the various creditunion assignments. By happenstance, it is Mr. Gene Creelman, VP Marketing & Communications from Interior Savings Credit Union in Kelowna. Gene and I used to work together at Envision and we are both pilots. We have a lot in common. We leave before lunch and will travel about two hours. We are told that the roads are in good condition this week. It should be fun.
I found a Catholic church here in the capital. It's called St. James, the same name as my parish in Abbotsford. The English mass started at 7:30 a.m. and lasted two hours. I certainly stood out but the Ghanian people are friendly and made me feel welcome. If my church at home sang with half thevolume and energy of the mass I attended this morning, we would have a parish growing by leaps and bounds.
I have been assigned my Canadian partner to work with at the various creditunion assignments. By happenstance, it is Mr. Gene Creelman, VP Marketing & Communications from Interior Savings Credit Union in Kelowna. Gene and I used to work together at Envision and we are both pilots. We have a lot in common. We leave before lunch and will travel about two hours. We are told that the roads are in good condition this week. It should be fun.
Saturday, Feb. 3rd blog
I have never attended a business meeting where it began with a prayer and an admonishment to wear condoms. We were meeting with the management team for the Credit Union Association of Ghana (the Ghanaian central of credit unions) here in the capital - Accra. HIV /Aids is a tragic pan African epidemic that has destroyed a generation. I saw its affects in my last assignment in Malawi where the number of orphans being raised by grand parents is shocking. The credit union system here is doing its best to educate its members. I like the message that it is promoting in its posters. It is this - "Love Life - abstain or be faithful or use condoms". The message offers choice.
Our Canadian group was invited to the home of the CEO. It was a humble place at the end of a dusty and unpaved road. His name is Emmanuel Darko. He fled the war in Liberia with his five children in 1991 and arrived in Ghana with nothing. He joined the credit union system, built his house and embarked on a personal project eight years ago to build a school for grades 1 through 7. This is not a credit union project. This is his personal vision. The school is built and now serves 300 students. We toured the buildings and his plan is to continue to expand the school so that within three years it will be able to serve 1,000 students. The man is a tirelessworker and a visionary. I was so impressed. Ramona gave me a suitcase full of school supplies before I left. I will be giving them to Emmanual before I leave.
I have never attended a business meeting where it began with a prayer and an admonishment to wear condoms. We were meeting with the management team for the Credit Union Association of Ghana (the Ghanaian central of credit unions) here in the capital - Accra. HIV /Aids is a tragic pan African epidemic that has destroyed a generation. I saw its affects in my last assignment in Malawi where the number of orphans being raised by grand parents is shocking. The credit union system here is doing its best to educate its members. I like the message that it is promoting in its posters. It is this - "Love Life - abstain or be faithful or use condoms". The message offers choice.
Our Canadian group was invited to the home of the CEO. It was a humble place at the end of a dusty and unpaved road. His name is Emmanuel Darko. He fled the war in Liberia with his five children in 1991 and arrived in Ghana with nothing. He joined the credit union system, built his house and embarked on a personal project eight years ago to build a school for grades 1 through 7. This is not a credit union project. This is his personal vision. The school is built and now serves 300 students. We toured the buildings and his plan is to continue to expand the school so that within three years it will be able to serve 1,000 students. The man is a tirelessworker and a visionary. I was so impressed. Ramona gave me a suitcase full of school supplies before I left. I will be giving them to Emmanual before I leave.
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