Week 1

We are grateful for the support people we have had in our lives that
have helped us get from point A to point B. There was a group of
school kids that were on our plane from JFK to Ghana who didn’t have
their visas, so they had to de-plane, which delayed our plane. People
like Liz Allred, who was in charge of making sure we had all the forms
we needed, have a very thankless role, but are imperative to have. A
team is only as good as their coach; we so grateful for all the many
coaches we have had and continue to have on our team that helps us be
successful.

Our first night we spent in Accra and the next morning we drove up to
the small village we will be living at in the hills called Abomosu.
As we were driving up to Abomosu we had a few “interesting”
experiences.  We first were stopped by a cop who asked to see our
license and insurance.  Then he wanted proof we had caution triangles
which are required incase a car breaks down or there is an accident.
They were under all the baggage so we had to unpack the whole car.  He
still wasn’t satisfied and said the tires needed more air.  Douglas,
the head loan collector who was with us slipped him 5 cedis (about
$1.50) and the cop said we could go.  Only a few minutes later we were
stopped by another cop holding an automatic rifle and dressed in army
gear and a helmet ordering for us to get out of the car.  Yelling
“show me your guns!” He asked us a series of questions and was
satisfied and we were allowed to progress.  It was a interesting car
ride.

Our week has been full of going out with Douglas and meeting with
people who are behind on their loans.  We have done very well. We have
also put a lot of time and effort into trying to locating and
accounting for all of the cash which has been sitting around while the
interns were away.  Our days have also been filled with trying to
update the accounting ledger and records so we can have accurate
records of who is behind and who is not.  We are getting the layout of
the land as well as understanding how businesses are run here.

As our fun weekend activity on Saturday we took a $1 and one-hour taxi
ride to “Tini Waterfall” and hiked for a half hour to get up to a
remote waterfall that fell from a beautiful cliff.  It was really
amazing!  We couldn’t help ourselves and climbed over a bunch of rocks
and jumped on in. It was a tad cold but not too bad.  It really was
beautiful!  We then walked down to the village and bought some yummy
fried banana chips and FanIce which is like ice cream! Sooo yummy! We
later drove home dodging pot holes and driving more on the side of the
road than the pavement because it is more smooth.  It is green and
beautiful here.  We look forward to beginning teach our phase 3
classes to people who have already paid of their original loan on
Monday.