tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77656449563951111862024-03-14T00:10:28.832+01:00Gareth In West Africa"Apparently it's not on the Piccadilly line..."Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-48673182223755387382011-05-26T11:52:00.000+01:002011-05-26T11:52:16.894+01:00Kicking Off The Trip (With Photos!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, onto the actual trip. For an overview of the trip, I haven’t found a decent map, and those that do exist are generally wrong (trust me. I’ve tried following them). So, in my hour of need I’ve turned to Paint, and drawn my own. I hope you like it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FIsLlRutR2w/Td4k-MPeleI/AAAAAAAAAHU/j9n1wBynRBc/s1600/Map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="223" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FIsLlRutR2w/Td4k-MPeleI/AAAAAAAAAHU/j9n1wBynRBc/s400/Map.png" t8="true" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kick-off: Cotonou.</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m going to slip in a couple of photos of a trip we did in Cotonou itself: There’s a stilt village called Ganvier on the large lagoon here, renowned as the “Venice of Africa” (SOME interpretations required). </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rmDgBtziBPw/Td4l4V1HrvI/AAAAAAAAAHY/ST8WXPBT0UA/s1600/Ganvie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rmDgBtziBPw/Td4l4V1HrvI/AAAAAAAAAHY/ST8WXPBT0UA/s320/Ganvie.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Stilt houses in Ganvie</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S8KLLhJtWEE/Td4miekrycI/AAAAAAAAAHk/bQBgv1vaMnw/s1600/2+storey+ganvie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S8KLLhJtWEE/Td4miekrycI/AAAAAAAAAHk/bQBgv1vaMnw/s320/2+storey+ganvie.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">High-rise (MUCH better in the floods)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh, and before leaving, there were one or to problem with the car we were borrowing from Vincent. Again, the photos can probably do the talking, but we left 3 days late due to complications with the engine. Let’s say it reminded me a lot of preparing for an infamous trip around Europe I did in a ’72 VW camper a few years ago…</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TfuqsrdVUHM/Td4nZahw9VI/AAAAAAAAAHo/0SmP4TU_nNs/s1600/Car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TfuqsrdVUHM/Td4nZahw9VI/AAAAAAAAAHo/0SmP4TU_nNs/s320/Car.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"La Vache", ready to go</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mlZW0s-UAro/Td4wbn8qLWI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/1sTlmpAqkw8/s1600/lizzie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mlZW0s-UAro/Td4wbn8qLWI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/1sTlmpAqkw8/s320/lizzie.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah, good old Lizzie. I think she'd have been a safer bet for this trip...</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But off we went. First stop, a lunch at my old favourite, Grand Popo.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UqH_PBbXdJQ/Td4oJU47jmI/AAAAAAAAAHs/GVI3wkDCTwo/s1600/Grand+Popo+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UqH_PBbXdJQ/Td4oJU47jmI/AAAAAAAAAHs/GVI3wkDCTwo/s320/Grand+Popo+3.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My Beach.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Next, to Togo.</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although we were aiming for a place called Kpalimé within the day, we got our first taste of locals guessing the time required to get anywhere. At 3pm, we asked, “how long all the way to Kpalimé?”.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Oh, only 2 hours. Definitely.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4 hours later we reach Lomé, Togo’s capital (about half way), and make an unscheduled stop for the night. Underestimating times will be something of a leitmotif to these blogs, in case you hadn’t suspected it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lomé:</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not much to say, we checked out the market, did some shopping, and headed off. As a whole, it’s much smaller than Cotonou, and much less commercial. In fact, I had a renewed appreciation for how well developed Cotonou is. Until we reached Ghana, which dispelled that appreciation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Finally, to Kpalimé</strong> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“1 hour," we’re told. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We got there in 4.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kpalimé is a little town up in the hills of Togo, where there’s some great scenery, plants, butterflies etc etc. To relax we went for an 8 hour walk through the jungle. I was hot after 2 minutes. I can’t remember anything beyond the first hour. But the photos are nice.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oRd1_FD37EQ/Td4qY6ozHrI/AAAAAAAAAH4/l7CQZJZ1Ooc/s1600/Guillaume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oRd1_FD37EQ/Td4qY6ozHrI/AAAAAAAAAH4/l7CQZJZ1Ooc/s320/Guillaume.jpg" t8="true" width="214" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Checking out a waterfall with our guide, Guillaume</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y6sYX29HAKs/Td4plSY906I/AAAAAAAAAHw/gODJf0eDKIY/s1600/Nam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y6sYX29HAKs/Td4plSY906I/AAAAAAAAAHw/gODJf0eDKIY/s320/Nam.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Reminded me of my time in 'Nam...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3uTuSGz51qk/Td4pqvophqI/AAAAAAAAAH0/2dN-6ZJCULM/s1600/Butterfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3uTuSGz51qk/Td4pqvophqI/AAAAAAAAAH0/2dN-6ZJCULM/s320/Butterfly.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Butterfly tattoo made purely from plants</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rQBfF25oc9o/Td4qfbA4AfI/AAAAAAAAAH8/jT8CRu6kSSA/s1600/Waterfall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rQBfF25oc9o/Td4qfbA4AfI/AAAAAAAAAH8/jT8CRu6kSSA/s320/Waterfall.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cooling off at a waterfall</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uXNGg7TeMvQ/Td4qvgwGysI/AAAAAAAAAIA/RG0gOuqys3Q/s1600/Kpalime+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uXNGg7TeMvQ/Td4qvgwGysI/AAAAAAAAAIA/RG0gOuqys3Q/s320/Kpalime+view.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">NOT cooling off at the top of Mt Klotou</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">And I’ll leave it there. Next post will see us through the highs and lows of Ghana, our main objective of the trip.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Learning from this blog? When driving in Africa, ask how long it will take, and triple it. At least.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-52419141125855790962011-05-16T20:59:00.000+01:002011-05-16T20:59:35.255+01:00Back Online (And Other Stories)<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ok, so it’s finally time to break radio silence – apologies to everyone for not filling your days with wonder and laughter as usual… The reason has been that I’ve been away from Cotonou, and on my return half of West Africa was out of internet as apparently a ship had hit the sea cable from Europe. Anyone notice?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There’s a LOT I want to write/show since the last post so I’ll break it up over a few rapid fire instalments. But the general topic is going to be a little trip I made across West Africa.</span></div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w00Ty2XqjKE/TdF_6StXPoI/AAAAAAAAAHI/dVD246D22uU/s1600/Ree+arrived.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w00Ty2XqjKE/TdF_6StXPoI/AAAAAAAAAHI/dVD246D22uU/s200/Ree+arrived.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here at last!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A good start</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yep, we didn’t leave on time, of course. I say we – I should probably mention that Rian has made it here safe and sound (Martyn I hope she’s already texted you. Otherwise apologies for the late notice of your daughter’s safe arrival to Benin….).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The first hurdle was my illness, which left me in bed for the better part of a week. Although pretty uncomfortable, I mostly missed work days, so can’t really complain!</span></div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2gNXrpIjPR0/TdGAiYQe_OI/AAAAAAAAAHM/EAvkKU9D0VE/s1600/Phone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2gNXrpIjPR0/TdGAiYQe_OI/AAAAAAAAAHM/EAvkKU9D0VE/s200/Phone.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bothered</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Next hurdle: visas. Visas, visas, visas.</strong></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It turns out that to get to Ghana you have to get a visa from the embassy in your home country. As I wasn’t ready to pop back to London, I had to put on my best charm. And after 5 visits to the embassy here, I finally swayed the consul to let me visit his country. Thanks very much to them, it was nice.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But visa issues are never over: my Benin visa was about to expire, and I was pretty keen to get back into the country. This is the official procedure:</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Get proof of residence from your neighbourhood chief</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Get slightly more official proof of residence from the town hall</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Get even more official proof of residence from the town hall (NOT at the same time. MUST be done sequentially. Requires your landlord’s signature. Who happens to live in Nigeria. Damn. Also very expensive to get.)</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Get immigration approval and visa extension</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After 3 weeks and only getting to step 2 in the process, I tried “Option Number 2”:</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Go straight to immigration, smile sweetly, and enquire whether there isn’t “another way”. Oh, and bring some loose change…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, good to go? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>No. Still visa issues, I’m afraid.</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We weren’t travelling alone. A good friend here, Iris has just finished her year in Benin and we arranged to do Ghana together. However, she had less success charming the Ghanaian cashier lady, and met with a few more formalities to meet. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It came to a head when we were both at the embassy (separate issues), and Iris complained about the unfairness of her treatment as opposed to mine – “Why do I have to when he didn’t?”. Fair question. The reply: “Ah. He should have done. I’ll have to notify the authorities and they’ll cancel his visa.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ah.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Smile sweetly. Hope…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After a bit of ego stroking, they decide it’s not worth the hassle, and tell us there’ll be no problems.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Excellent. Everyone has visas, we’re sorted.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not quite.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I call another Kiva Fellow in Ghana, with whom we’d hoped to meet up, and in fact whose address we were using as the “official address while in Ghana” for the visas.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I’m not sure I’m going to be able to help you after all,” she announces. “You see I’ve just realised I’ve overstayed my own visa, by over a month. I’m focussed on trying not to get deported right now…”.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With that omen we hit the road. That’s the last I heard from her until we arrived at her town in Ghana….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But more on that later.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lessons from this blog? If you have to get through red tape in West Africa, make sure you get started early. And always look for another, simpler way...</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-15881913443723195432011-04-20T10:13:00.001+01:002011-04-20T10:14:02.391+01:00Just Another Weekend in Benin<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The plan: Drive down the coast, pick up some friends, carry on to an estuary where there’s loads of place for kiting. Sounds simple? Absolutely.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The best laid schemes of mice and men go oft awry</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We hit a snag. After two hours of driving, we see our goal, about one mile away: The broad river sweeping into the sea, with a nice wide and slow moving river mouth. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ideal. Of course, the road was not a road, and the sand was a little loose, but it had hardly been the M25 since leaving Cotonou. And with Patrick’s mad driving skills at the wheel, what could go wrong?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That’s when we start skidding.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No problem, let’s get our rally heads on, and plough through this stuff. Remember, failure is not an option.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That’s when we stop skidding. Oh, and we stop moving too.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No problem. Just gonna slide the car into 4x4 mode, and – “Oh, no, this doesn’t have a 4x4.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“What?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“No it just looks like the sort of car that would have. Clever, isn’t it!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Well, yes, now you mention it, I always thought it was a 4x4. You must have got it at a very reasonable rate, and yet it gives a very satisfactory performance through the ruts. A little choked in the higher gears, but – WAIT A MINUTE HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET OUT OF THIS MASSIVE SAND TRAP NOW!!!!???????”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You see, our enthusiasm for rally style driving had carried us a good two hundred metres across what can only be described as a massive sand trap. In fact, if giants played golf, this would be the little bunker, just after chipping the ball across the Atlantic and before hitting the fairway of the Sahel.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Locals to the rescue</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Luckily, we were near a fishing village. And the locals LOVE helping stranded white people. I have no idea why. Just for the fun of it, no doubt. Don’t ask questions, just get out of the sand.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So began our 20 minute wrestle, Patrick revving the engine beyond the red zone while attempting to reverse through the sand, and 20 local fishermen, women and children pushing the car for all their worth (after we got all of them pushing the same direction, and in the right direction...).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At midday on one of the hottest days of the year, on a sun-baked beach, with burning clutch fumes pouring out of the engine compartment as a thick black cloud straight in my face, my feet burning as I heaved the car across the scolding sand, I had a GREAT time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>A note: Patrick got us into this trouble. Completely and utterly him, no urging from anyone else. Yet he stays in the car and presses a couple of pedals while we basically carry him to safety? Typical.</em></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So begins the wild, celebrating cheers from all around, as the simple joy of overcoming adversity fills us all with a common link, to be one together, helping your fellow man in the most altruistic sense of the – “So, you pay us for the help.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Ah. Yes. Rather burst my bubble there, old chap. Never mind, should have seen it coming. Not enough? No of course not, it never is, is it? Let me just get in the car and get out some more of my DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE!”</span></div> <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iDUbeE2NyGY/Ta6hQRYWi0I/AAAAAAAAAHA/VsDnGVM7zog/s1600/image4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" i8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iDUbeE2NyGY/Ta6hQRYWi0I/AAAAAAAAAHA/VsDnGVM7zog/s200/image4.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a lovely picnic scene</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In adversity lies opportunity</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Regroup. Come up with a plan.</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">Lunch. Definitely.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, rather than a radical, extreme, mental afternoon of kite surfing crocodile-infested waters, we stop on the beach outside a small hut to have our picnic. And I play petanques with a couple of elderly local fishermen by the side of the road.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">M-E-N-T-A-L.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>To cap it all off</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We head back, with one final drinks stop before the last hour’s drive home. We get a call: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Are you guys ok?” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, why? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Only there’s been a huge deluge in town and we were wondering if you’d been caught in it and whether you could get home?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Look up: bright sunshine – check. Look at my shoulders: lobster pink, verging on tomato red – check. Look around: beautiful equatorial scene generally with not a care in the world – che… actually, what’s that dark bit in the sky over there?</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BbWnchadbik/Ta6iMwOp9qI/AAAAAAAAAHE/ASrHcy7U90Y/s1600/storm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" i8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BbWnchadbik/Ta6iMwOp9qI/AAAAAAAAAHE/ASrHcy7U90Y/s320/storm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Five minutes later, the howling gale.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ten minutes later, the rains fall. HARD.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Don’t worry,” says Patrick, “I can drive us home in this.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, flash floods can’t be as bad as a bit of sand can they?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We got home. Let’s leave it at that.</span></div>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-24150409158983498822011-04-15T10:20:00.001+01:002011-04-20T10:13:43.463+01:00Short Stories<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here’s a collection of funny anecdotes from my time here...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let's see the change:</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Having paid the bill for a meal, we await the change, only to find that not enough was returned. On pointing this out to the waitress (who doesn’t even bat an eyelid), she promptly returns with the right change, stating “My apologies, but the cashier has a problem with her eyes and can’t see”.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Know your menu:</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At our local (very local) haunt at the end of our road, we order meals from the menu – 4 chickens with salad and one spaghetti bolognaise. After a 20 minute interval the waiter returns to inform us there is no salad. “No problem, we’ll take the green beans”.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“And for the bolognaise?” he asks.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Er… don’t worry, no salad” comes the reply.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“So, just the sauce?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Er…no, with spaghetti”.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Ah yes of course.” The waiter hovers, with a puzzled expression. “Excuse me, but what is a spaghetti bolognaise?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I’ll take the chicken.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Listed on a menu:</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mango ice cream:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>without cigarette: 2,000FCFA</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> with cigarette: 2,800FCFA</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">From the same menu:</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><em><span style="font-family: inherit;">Accompaniments: </span></em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rice</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Beans</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tagliatelle (rice and beans)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">A kind notice from a hotel bathroom:</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><strong></strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="288" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ihc8vWtOYT0/TagHn4lpStI/AAAAAAAAAG4/P_MtFaZVSKw/s400/bathroom+notice.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, the message is clear anyway...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ihc8vWtOYT0/TagHn4lpStI/AAAAAAAAAG4/P_MtFaZVSKw/s1600/bathroom+notice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">And also a quick collection of scam stories from people in the streets:</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">One which is actually quite feasible:</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ah! Hello! How are you? You don’t recognise me? I’m Theo, from immigration, we met at the airport! Let me guess, you’re still getting your visa finalised yes? I can help, make it happen very quick! Just for a small fee… What? Without my help, it will never happen. I can stop you getting this. I can make it very difficult for you, I know the minister….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">One to be rewarded for the sheer commitment:</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ah! Hello! How are you? You don’t recognise me? I’m Theo, from immigration, I stamped your passport! Yes, good to see you again!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><em><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pause one week. Move to another random street in town.</span></em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ah, hi again! How’s the family? Yes, great, mine too, all very well. How’s your stay in Benin? Yes, lovely isn’t it. Anyway, must fly, bye!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><em><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pause one week. Move to another random street in town.</span></em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ah, hello again! Isn’t it funny how we keep seeing each other! How’s the family? Yes, all good thanks, and the stay in Benin? Yes, it is very hot. Actually, now that I see you, my old friend, I have a bit of a favour to ask…..</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">One with some impressive research:</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hi there, how are you? Are you enjoying your stay in Benin? Yes, it is very beautiful! Where are you from? Ah, Geneva? I know Geneva, I have a brother there! Yes, just next to Carrouge, around the corner from the university. Yes, you see the bar “les deux lions”, his house is next to that one! He works at the university as a researcher. Yes, small world indeed! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Actually, since you are from Geneva, I was hoping you could help me – I have a flight booked for there in two days, but they have changed the flight time. I need to call my brother to get confirmation from him, but I have no credit. Could you possibly lend me 5,000FCFA to make the call – I’ll pay you back next time I see you, and bring you back some Gruyere from Geneva!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">And finally, the RSC (Benin chapter):</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(<em>Bursts into tears</em>) Oh, sir, please, sir, I need some help! My wife is in labour! But she needs a caesarean, and I don’t have the money for the blood transfusion… They cost 25,000FCFA each – you see I have enough for one here (<em>shows the money</em>) but I need a second or she will lose the baby! Please sir! (<em>reply "no" – the man stops crying immediately, shrugs, and says “y’a pas de soucis” – no worries. Another white man walks by. The waterworks begin again…</em>).</span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W_Yf1ycoVco/TagIamkBUEI/AAAAAAAAAG8/srP2CxJusEg/s1600/Boubou.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W_Yf1ycoVco/TagIamkBUEI/AAAAAAAAAG8/srP2CxJusEg/s320/Boubou.JPG" width="214" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rockin' it Africa style</span></td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Word of advice...</span></strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Right, that’s about it, apart from a hot tip if you ever come to Benin: “On se tiend”, although it literally means “let’s hold each other”, here it means “let’s stay in touch”. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">DO NOT go in for the full body hug. It gets very awkward…</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-57056096459118249332011-04-01T11:37:00.000+01:002011-04-01T11:37:53.181+01:00From Benin With Love (And Other Cheesy Bond Analogies)<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today, I celebrate my 2 month anniversary here in Benin. As such, it’s probably time to detail a bit of what I’ve <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">actually</b> been getting up to here (it’s not all surfing and kiting, but I’m trying to keep the ratio healthy…).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>The task:</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In San Francisco, the Kiva guys gave me a lovely “workplan” with lots and lots of “deliverables”, which were all cleverly thought out by someone partly in the States, sometimes as close as Dakar. But not actually here. The voiceover from Kathy (my regional coordinator, who keeps me linked to Kiva HQ) was more honest: “They’re not doing great, and we don’t know why. So, just go along, get involved, and see what you can do”.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although unclear, that’s the kind of carte blanche direction I like. A bit like James Bond. The James Bond of microfinance. Not with a licence to kill, but with a licence to help. Oh, yeah.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So here’s what I did. The first two weeks were pretty quiet, balancing careful observation of how things run here with my stringent acclimatisation routine of going to the beach most days. You can’t put a value on spending time reflecting on your observations…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then – Eureka. I pulled out my help-gun. And pulled the trigger.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh Yeah.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A bit of (probably boring) detail: </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are a couple of key methodologies for doing microfinance. The simplest is the “one loan to one person” approach, which needs some form of collateral such as obligatory savings alongside repayments. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The next level up is the Grameen-style group solidarity lending, developed in Bangladesh. In this approach, a group of borrowers get together and provide social collateral – in other words, if you don’t pay, the other members of the group will have to pay for you, and you will suffer some social backlash (not to mention being kicked out the lending group). This approach is good as it avoids material collateral (which often doesn’t exist, these guys are poor), and it gives authority to the lending group – the extent to which I want to punish someone for not repaying depends on whether it was a genuine problem (illness etc) or whether they were just not pulling their weight.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, the partners here operate mostly with the latter. Something we at Kiva had completely missed. So when we published loans on the site, we published individuals. With life stories and photos. Which takes a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">long</b> time to gather. All for loans in the region of $250. The guys here got fed up with it, and thought it was too much work for the benefits of the interest-free capital we give them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Golden Bullet:</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the Kiva site we have a way of publishing group loans, with a story on a “featured member”. So I simply rolled out this mechanism to all the credit agents so they got the relevant information. Now, rather than finding 10 clients, writing 10 stories, and taking 10 photos, they find one group at their group meeting, write one story, and take one photo. That saves about 90% of the work, if my maths is right. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">These are savings which can be passed on as decreased interest rates, greater outreach to marginalised communities, and increased client services in the form of support and business training (note these guys are non-profit so it’s not a case of celebrating better profits).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Simple solution. And it shows the value of having someone out here to really understand what’s going on.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hitting the target:</span></b> </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TXWBAyhK5Jg/TZWjLgjy9HI/AAAAAAAAAG0/SBq_sFO9fpY/s1600/Office.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TXWBAyhK5Jg/TZWjLgjy9HI/AAAAAAAAAG0/SBq_sFO9fpY/s200/Office.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just like Daniel Craig</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So followed two weeks of driving around on motorbikes, getting burned, and training agents at the branches and out in the field with clients.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now we’ve just finished publishing loans for the month of March. Kiva imposes a fundraising limit on its partners every month. For the past few months the guys here have raised in the region of 5% of that limit. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This month we raised 150% of that limit.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Boom.</span></div>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-46759721256044399062011-03-28T11:59:00.000+01:002011-03-28T11:59:01.436+01:00Back To The BeachSo, good news for all. Photos! So I'll keep the chat brief.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lZ_D9uEu258/TZBK2EH__CI/AAAAAAAAAFw/qDNEByMwEYM/s1600/Lake+Aheme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lZ_D9uEu258/TZBK2EH__CI/AAAAAAAAAFw/qDNEByMwEYM/s320/Lake+Aheme.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Ahéme, on the road to Grand Popo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0JmVn240zQk/TZBfd87d3hI/AAAAAAAAAGw/C1qLsebHK7k/s1600/Transport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="130" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0JmVn240zQk/TZBfd87d3hI/AAAAAAAAAGw/C1qLsebHK7k/s320/Transport.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local transport. Luckily we have our own car...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dmnoon_Zmts/TZBLSI3ma-I/AAAAAAAAAF0/phOOerLirdY/s1600/Hotel+Ganna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dmnoon_Zmts/TZBLSI3ma-I/AAAAAAAAAF0/phOOerLirdY/s320/Hotel+Ganna.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Gana Hotel, Grand Popo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gx6OC703VqA/TZBP3l5Jx2I/AAAAAAAAAGU/pOzJhMNRbTw/s1600/Fisherwomen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gx6OC703VqA/TZBP3l5Jx2I/AAAAAAAAAGU/pOzJhMNRbTw/s320/Fisherwomen.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the beach again. Left to right: Fishing boat, <br />
women carrying a fishing net, and Patrick</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4DC1sk-AgS8/TZBR5bLZmoI/AAAAAAAAAGo/kwPndV8VSGk/s1600/Vince+%2526+Iris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4DC1sk-AgS8/TZBR5bLZmoI/AAAAAAAAAGo/kwPndV8VSGk/s320/Vince+%2526+Iris.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iris and Vincent</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DoRvA8pqLWw/TZBOyblO8aI/AAAAAAAAAGE/iCZE_zn9org/s1600/Patrick+style.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DoRvA8pqLWw/TZBOyblO8aI/AAAAAAAAAGE/iCZE_zn9org/s320/Patrick+style.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patrick mastering a traction kite</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6754luOsMTE/TZBPl7LNfkI/AAAAAAAAAGM/RPYhO83Dxdg/s1600/Water+kiting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6754luOsMTE/TZBPl7LNfkI/AAAAAAAAAGM/RPYhO83Dxdg/s320/Water+kiting.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, flying my kite from the sea</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rw5ny-lazrU/TZBOuoF-SCI/AAAAAAAAAGA/S8xhLY3YEnM/s1600/Liftoff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rw5ny-lazrU/TZBOuoF-SCI/AAAAAAAAAGA/S8xhLY3YEnM/s320/Liftoff.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit of lift-off....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JUJg5N6KnAA/TZBO1-hbyiI/AAAAAAAAAGI/U3u1HQaiCbE/s1600/Eagle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JUJg5N6KnAA/TZBO1-hbyiI/AAAAAAAAAGI/U3u1HQaiCbE/s320/Eagle.jpg" width="148" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The was an eagle who was fascinated by the kite, he kept following it around. <br />
Luckily no attacks...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dABelJ1Vzyk/TZBRmopt3NI/AAAAAAAAAGY/RPc9WZrEJ6I/s1600/Kitting+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dABelJ1Vzyk/TZBRmopt3NI/AAAAAAAAAGY/RPc9WZrEJ6I/s320/Kitting+up.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enough practice. Here are Raf and Patrick getting the <br />
Big Boy kite ready...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mxZhStyIU4k/TZBR2RjAYYI/AAAAAAAAAGk/WPBMxc1qC8k/s1600/Launching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mxZhStyIU4k/TZBR2RjAYYI/AAAAAAAAAGk/WPBMxc1qC8k/s320/Launching.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready for launch!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4xPJ8dq2SqQ/TZBRva9yn3I/AAAAAAAAAGg/WuWXynDXxLc/s1600/Sweeping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4xPJ8dq2SqQ/TZBRva9yn3I/AAAAAAAAAGg/WuWXynDXxLc/s320/Sweeping.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And there she is, sports fans. Complete masterclass.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GDHfUg5XffQ/TZBRpL5MDSI/AAAAAAAAAGc/CvMfX0TltTc/s1600/In+action.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" r6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GDHfUg5XffQ/TZBRpL5MDSI/AAAAAAAAAGc/CvMfX0TltTc/s320/In+action.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This kite has serious pull so you're strapped in to a harness. <br />
I got a little nervous if I thought about what that <br />
meant if the wind picked up....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l3sKNRahAD0/TZBR7u94m2I/AAAAAAAAAGs/Jt23N-EfOa8/s1600/Beach+kiting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l3sKNRahAD0/TZBR7u94m2I/AAAAAAAAAGs/Jt23N-EfOa8/s320/Beach+kiting.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patrick flying the big one, under Raf's <br />
careful supervision</td></tr>
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</div>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-1215687249946621392011-03-21T10:47:00.002+01:002011-03-21T10:55:21.036+01:00Photography (without the photographs)<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So the topic this week: Photo blog. At least that’s what I had planned: thousands of photos of little African children. Nothing sells a blog like cute photos.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">BUT. I’ve failed again.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As it turns out, taking photos is not that easy – there’s a reason that Benin doesn’t figure highly on the Japanese tourist circuit. Cameras are not well received. Particularly big cameras. In fact, the bigger the camera, the poorer the reception. Which puts me at a disadvantage with the particular model I chose to bring out here….</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">WHY?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most people coming out here are aware of a cultural resistance to photography and put it down to Vodoun (aka voodoo) superstition. “They think it’s stealing their soul. Oh bless. How very primitive”, is basically the thought process.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve only come across a Vodoun-related excuse when in a traditional village, and a procession of “devotee” women were walking by. They spend the entire adult life in a convent devoted to a particular Vodoun god, and only come out on these processions very rarely. They are considered very holy, so fair enough.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But leaving aside such particularly sacred examples, the major reason they give for their dislike of photography is money.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ALWAYS WITH THE MONEY</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“You will take my photo, then go back to Holland,” they claim.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I’m from ENGLAND,” I point out.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Yes, Holland. And you will make lots of money”.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yep, all white people with cameras are professional photographers who make their riches out of coming to Benin (for those who read my last blog “The White Man”, sorry this point should really have been in my “what the locals think of white people” list…).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“So if you want my photo, gimme money”.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Granted, this does allow me a way of getting photos. But it’s not exactly candid – what normally follows is that a group will get together and pose, badly. It’s awkward.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">TRY THE OTHER SHOE ON</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The concept of strangers photographing me doing everyday things is not completely alien to me. Back in my student days, our college would be packed with tourists, all desperate to take photos of students (particularly if you’re sat looking a little bleary-eyed outside the library during exams – apparently that makes for a great shot…).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And it did get grating. VERY grating at times. But the parallel can’t be drawn to the people here: there, tourists would visit to admire the splendour of it all, thinking us creatures of privilege.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here, the “everyday things” are earning a living. Surviving through miserable economic conditions. I struggle not to think myself a little voyeuristic just strolling through an old traditional village.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You can justify it to yourself in many ways – it’s not the poverty; it’s the people, the colours, the shapes, the love of life, the beauty of it. But deep down you can’t shake that feeling.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the people here, your very poverty is a tourist attraction, which at worst will be exploited by photographers when they get back to Europe.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And you react negatively. Or try to make some money out of it. You can be photographed, but on your terms. Fair enough. It puts the power of choice back in your hands. (But it doesn’t make for fun pictures!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So there it is. I don’t take many photos, out of respect for those who might be in them. I hope I can learn how to effectively break down the barriers and have them be comfortable with my camera, but so far not much joy I’m sorry to say.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>But I can't leave you completely empty handed... </strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's my new discovery: the Benin Marina hotel, in Cotonou. Pool, tennis, golf - very "Africa", don't you think....?</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5dx8XQ1GH70/TYccvYi-pnI/AAAAAAAAAFc/W44l-5_B3bU/s1600/Marina1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5dx8XQ1GH70/TYccvYi-pnI/AAAAAAAAAFc/W44l-5_B3bU/s320/Marina1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zifFfBFRUMY/TYccr3y30mI/AAAAAAAAAFY/-AF71yzuY2Y/s1600/Marina2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zifFfBFRUMY/TYccr3y30mI/AAAAAAAAAFY/-AF71yzuY2Y/s320/Marina2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-1140770749105509222011-03-10T11:44:00.006+01:002011-03-10T15:15:49.306+01:00The White Man<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Just to clarify, this is the sounds of a small child bursting into tears at the first site of me. And once again it’s the sound that welcomes me as I enter a Beninese village, accompanying the loan agent to make sure my training has stuck.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Ha ha. Yovo yovo yovo yovo”, exclaims the mother (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Haha. White man white man white man</i>). And picks up the child to force her closer to me.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">WWWWWWWWAAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAHHHAAAA!!!!!!!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Smile. Yes, very funny. Haha. At least the whole village is now surrounding us and laughing along. I guess this is one way to break the ice – frightening the young children with the White Devil (even I’m starting to call myself that these days…).</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh well. Let’s get down to business. The loan agent explains my presence, what Kiva does, and what’s needed to take a Kiva loan (a photo of the group). And the questions begin. Some tough ones in there too.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I want a loan for less than that. Does Kiva not care about me?” (We have a minimum value here because anything less is just not worth the cost of the extra work - which would be passed on as higher interest rates).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Can you give us a machine?”. No, that’s not what I’m here for, I’m helping to provide loans.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Can you give us a bigger loan for a machine?”. No, your credit limit will increase following good repayment and let’s hope that one day you can get that machine.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“When you go home, ask your friends to give us a machine”. Ok, fine, if it’ll stop this line of questioning, I’ll see what I can do. That’s four village groups this week who’ve asked me this. Let’s hope my friends are feeling generous.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You see there are still some very clear rules of thumb that accompany a white man in Africa (well, in Benin – I won’t speak for the rest but I have a feeling…). They were explained to me nicely by Gilles, the credit agent in Allada, a rural town north of Cotonou.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Everything that comes from the white man is good. </b>“If you come with me and talk, they will say yes, even if they don’t understand. If it’s from the white man, they will agree. Next time when I come on my own, they will refuse”.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></span></div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Everything that comes from the white man is free.</b> “If we tell them this loan comes from white people, they will think ‘great, this is aid’ and not pay it back”.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The white man has A LOT of money.</b> “Not all white people are rich?”. Depends by whose standards, but looking around here, yes, probably.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And just before I leave, the mother tries once again. For luck, I suppose.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><strong>WWWWAAAHHAHAHAHAHAAAAWWAAAAA!!!!!</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s become something combining both crying and laughing. Sometimes I know exactly what she means.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, there’s a lack of photos to add to this story due to the negative reception to whipping out a massive SLR in the middle of a village meeting (I’m hoping to write my next post on the cultural factors around photos and loans generally, so more on this later). All I can do for you now is link a couple of publications I’ve made in my time here so far. <strong>Click on their names</strong> to see the full profiles!</span></div> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_370358136"></a> <a href="http://www.kiva.org/lend/276997"></a> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6AG409n_5SA/TXiiwHLK93I/AAAAAAAAAEo/xRUigg4F-g8/s1600/Leontine.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="140" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6AG409n_5SA/TXiiwHLK93I/AAAAAAAAAEo/xRUigg4F-g8/s200/Leontine.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kiva.org/lend/278241">Leontine</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kiva.org/lend/276995" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="138" q6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WZA3FxyZ3cQ/TXijwRH9DBI/AAAAAAAAAEw/oRzyvoU1bXs/s200/Mariette+KIVA.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kiva.org/lend/276995">Mariette</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><img height="68" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-axmpS0k4Vwk/TXjcfweRiFI/AAAAAAAAAFI/bjR1_lZXoX8/s200/Maria+KIVA.png" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 397px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 875px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-axmpS0k4Vwk/TXjcfweRiFI/AAAAAAAAAFI/bjR1_lZXoX8/s1600/Maria+KIVA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="141" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-axmpS0k4Vwk/TXjcfweRiFI/AAAAAAAAAFI/bjR1_lZXoX8/s200/Maria+KIVA.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kiva.org/lend/276997">Maria</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-67853434098035010792011-02-26T10:25:00.000+01:002011-02-26T10:25:51.548+01:00Money, Money, EverywhereAfongadjia guys (that's hello, and yes it's taken me 4 weeks to learn it. By the end of my time here I'm pretty confident of managing a three word sentence...).<br />
<br />
So I've got another cracker on the main Kiva website for you. I think last time I oversold the microfinance aspects - I'm incapable of writing much on that since I've only been doing it for a handful of weeks! It's a nice insight to the conditions here though.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2011/02/25/money-money-everywhere/">Check it out here.</a><br />
<br />
Thanks!<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-EYk16JXFSA4/TWjGnlwH2oI/AAAAAAAAAEk/VZQfOhUbwZU/s1600/Work.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" l6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-EYk16JXFSA4/TWjGnlwH2oI/AAAAAAAAAEk/VZQfOhUbwZU/s320/Work.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ok so it's actually been a hard week and <br />
apparently starting to show...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-59642724867574602042011-02-23T21:10:00.000+01:002011-02-23T21:10:12.163+01:00A Weekend In Pictures<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Just a few clips from the latest weekend jaunt: This time to Possotomé, a little village on a lake slightly inland, which is Benin’s main source of mineral water.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rko2S42wsUo/TWVnHoVDYjI/AAAAAAAAAD4/7zLg6PPO03E/s1600/Lakeside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rko2S42wsUo/TWVnHoVDYjI/AAAAAAAAAD4/7zLg6PPO03E/s320/Lakeside.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Welcome to Chez Theo, the lakeside hotel </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">at Possotomé</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zP5EI9gJSpQ/TWVnTblFVrI/AAAAAAAAAD8/RGaQd3NQfyA/s1600/team+possotome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" j6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zP5EI9gJSpQ/TWVnTblFVrI/AAAAAAAAAD8/RGaQd3NQfyA/s320/team+possotome.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The gang, chilling out by the lake</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v443UnWWYfs/TWVnbM1AL1I/AAAAAAAAAEA/66q68VRZlxg/s1600/Posso1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" j6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v443UnWWYfs/TWVnbM1AL1I/AAAAAAAAAEA/66q68VRZlxg/s320/Posso1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The entire restaurant is on stilts over the lake</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dmIYOtY-xFM/TWVniNEShAI/AAAAAAAAAEE/J7ATvPy4ab4/s1600/African+Queen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dmIYOtY-xFM/TWVniNEShAI/AAAAAAAAAEE/J7ATvPy4ab4/s320/African+Queen.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The “African Queen” docked at the restaurant</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m23ZVs5ez5k/TWVnrtfjQgI/AAAAAAAAAEI/HTqHV2bCuhQ/s1600/Pirogue2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" j6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m23ZVs5ez5k/TWVnrtfjQgI/AAAAAAAAAEI/HTqHV2bCuhQ/s320/Pirogue2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Local transport…</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y4aYV8JaxkU/TWVnyrdYEoI/AAAAAAAAAEM/9YRFU7DL6jE/s1600/Fisher2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y4aYV8JaxkU/TWVnyrdYEoI/AAAAAAAAAEM/9YRFU7DL6jE/s320/Fisher2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><strong>…</strong></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And local fishing methods</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mm1MXygNXl8/TWVn5b6M_PI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/9ygqp0ne4kg/s1600/Mental+truck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" j6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mm1MXygNXl8/TWVn5b6M_PI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/9ygqp0ne4kg/s320/Mental+truck.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Typical Beninese road freight</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4XZlyJJTsW4/TWVoFQxjr2I/AAAAAAAAAEU/5VyC4PtazeM/s1600/Route+de+Peche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" j6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4XZlyJJTsW4/TWVoFQxjr2I/AAAAAAAAAEU/5VyC4PtazeM/s320/Route+de+Peche.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We took the "route de pêche" <span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(fishing road) </span>on the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">way </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">home</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, which is </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">just the long stretch of </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">beach all along Benin’s coastline</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uQgsMvvA7as/TWVoVVOC2rI/AAAAAAAAAEY/lxRdoIps54c/s1600/Route+de+Peche2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uQgsMvvA7as/TWVoVVOC2rI/AAAAAAAAAEY/lxRdoIps54c/s320/Route+de+Peche2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The few hamlets here are pretty basic, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">housing the local fishermen</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BvzvPGyZA7o/TWVoebUP0jI/AAAAAAAAAEc/rQaMkR0sBJI/s1600/Sea+fishers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" j6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BvzvPGyZA7o/TWVoebUP0jI/AAAAAAAAAEc/rQaMkR0sBJI/s320/Sea+fishers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Every evening the whole village pulls in the sea</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">net cast out by boat earlier in the day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This provides food and money for the entire village</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-73ZspbhgQ64/TWVoogPpFyI/AAAAAAAAAEg/jj0OlgCaMtY/s1600/Fidjrosse+bar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="361" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-73ZspbhgQ64/TWVoogPpFyI/AAAAAAAAAEg/jj0OlgCaMtY/s400/Fidjrosse+bar.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Return to<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>Cotonou. A bit of Sunday evening last minute relaxation on a rooftop bar. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Left to right)</i> Marc, Vincent, Patrick (housemate), Eliza, me</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-76246766768902959982011-02-18T17:40:00.000+01:002011-02-18T17:40:00.939+01:00Settling In...<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Following popular demand, I’m once again changing tack on the levity of my blog – don’t worry plenty more fun microfinance ones to come later as required by Kiva!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, what have I been up to in the last week? Good question. Good news is that I’ve not only moved, but as of yesterday I even have my own room, rather than sleeping on a mattress on the lounge floor, fully exposed to the security guard all night. Oh, and my room has AIRCON. But also a cold shower, which raises a great philosophical question: Is it better to turn the AC off and really appreciate the shower in the morning, or to have it on 16 degrees and then freeze in the shower? I don’t know.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G_vA4xMLTCc/TV6XhuWEp_I/AAAAAAAAADk/W17rX9DL-GY/s1600/The+palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="212" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G_vA4xMLTCc/TV6XhuWEp_I/AAAAAAAAADk/W17rX9DL-GY/s320/The+palace.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The Palace</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HX0AsVRmU-M/TV6X2542IwI/AAAAAAAAADs/KKQGo3b0wwU/s1600/DSC_0161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="133" j6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HX0AsVRmU-M/TV6X2542IwI/AAAAAAAAADs/KKQGo3b0wwU/s200/DSC_0161.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">My actual, proper room now!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mLoiAwczaPU/TV6XuyjyCqI/AAAAAAAAADo/DP6Mkwuv-QY/s1600/DSC_0163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="133" j6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mLoiAwczaPU/TV6XuyjyCqI/AAAAAAAAADo/DP6Mkwuv-QY/s200/DSC_0163.jpg" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The Lounge (and my temporary bed)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2wnQOKvO0z0/TV6X_MumDWI/AAAAAAAAADw/NhstS_qQ0lM/s1600/rooftop+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="125" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2wnQOKvO0z0/TV6X_MumDWI/AAAAAAAAADw/NhstS_qQ0lM/s320/rooftop+view.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">View to the sea from the rooftop terrace</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">New housemates are Patrick (Swiss) and Erica (Italian), both working at the UN for something or another…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">More good news. There seems to be a string of ‘out of the blue’ bank holidays at the moment, quite nicely aligned to the run up to the presidential elections at the end of the month. Coincidence of course. So Tuesday, given it was Mohammed’s birthday (the prophet), I was able to go and sit on the beach all day, and make friends with some Lebanese surfers. It turns out that “surf chat” is pretty international, but I include the translation for completeness. </span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eUcx_Zdiqso/TV6VrKy8YOI/AAAAAAAAADc/3dlAviUFEQU/s1600/surfchat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="160" j6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eUcx_Zdiqso/TV6VrKy8YOI/AAAAAAAAADc/3dlAviUFEQU/s200/surfchat.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">My new surf bud</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Sup…"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hello</i> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 7.0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Pumping?" </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"><br />
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Are there waves of a suitable standard for a beginner?</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 7.0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"No, it’s not like the lines at Hossegur…"</span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unkown (I read this on a website once, think it’s ‘cool’)</span></em></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 7.0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"I remember this time in Morrocco…"</span><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">…I sat on the beach watching better people surf</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 7.0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Massive triple overhead..."</span><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One wave caught me on the shins while I was wading in the shallows</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 7.0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Radical…"</span><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was quite thrilling</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 7.0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Blah blah…"</span><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">More nonsense but I’m waiting for the right moment to ask…</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"…Oh, can I borrow your board?"</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And so I got to paddle out in the sort of rubbish you’d only expect in Devon, except that here you don’t need a wetsuit.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gd7gHEhoGrM/TV6WWeLrmgI/AAAAAAAAADg/_VxWTh_N0fM/s1600/surf1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="154" j6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gd7gHEhoGrM/TV6WWeLrmgI/AAAAAAAAADg/_VxWTh_N0fM/s320/surf1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">"Tearing it up"</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, a token mention of work: I’ve upped my hours recently, ever since I was stranded there till 20:30 in a torrential downpour and resulting blackout. My colleagues now think those are the hours I work and it’s awkward to explain that I didn’t actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">want </i>to be there but it was raining etc etc. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But I’m now out doing the rounds of all the branches, training the staff here how to do something new (a tip if you’re ever in sub-Saharan Africa being driven places on a scooter: wear sunscreen. 3 hours later, I was pretty fried. And don't repeat the same mistake the next day, even though you've already drafted such a warning as part of a blog). </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Included in these trips are the obligatory visits to some of their clients (they seem very keen on hairdressers), but that’s for another day…</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lastly, in an attempt to make this whole format more interactive: I’d like scores out of 10 on brevity, levity, and content. You might want to consider whether I’m likely to adjust with or completely against your suggestions…</span></div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1VwUgw2OG0k/TV6efwSMQUI/AAAAAAAAAD0/4AycXY3KirU/s1600/beard1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" j6="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1VwUgw2OG0k/TV6efwSMQUI/AAAAAAAAAD0/4AycXY3KirU/s320/beard1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not ginger. It's manly.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-89150350064323598672011-02-13T21:11:00.000+01:002011-02-13T21:11:02.500+01:00The Kiva Fellows PhenomenonHi all and thanks for checking out the latest update – this week I’m fulfilling my “official” duties to Kiva by beginning my series of slightly more microfinance-related topics on the main Kiva site – I’ll warn you it’s a little more US-centric so forgive me for any OTT sentimentality...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2011/02/13/the-kiva-fellows-phenomenon/">Check it out here.</a><br />
<br />
Oh also, isn’t this just a beautiful sight to behold? <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GkBVqV-ei04/TVeyChQvBvI/AAAAAAAAADY/5aFoEbHi3Is/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GkBVqV-ei04/TVeyChQvBvI/AAAAAAAAADY/5aFoEbHi3Is/s320/photo.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh clothes!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-28202399990540700092011-02-07T15:42:00.001+01:002011-02-13T11:41:04.689+01:00It's a Hard Life, Helping<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let’s lighten the mood a bit since last time. I’ve gone for a photo approach today, based on some aspects of my week of settling into the heavy demands of expatriate life here in Cotonou. A quick update first – the bag still hasn’t arrived. “Next Tuesday” turned into “No, Next Tuesday”. Here’s hoping I get it tomorrow – The only pair of trousers with me now are heavy jeans and they’re really starting to smell…</span></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU_kkoPeTXI/AAAAAAAAACo/c7A9032tRT0/s1600/room1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU_kkoPeTXI/AAAAAAAAACo/c7A9032tRT0/s400/room1.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div align="center"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The hotel room my brother booked for me as I ran across Brussels airport panicking I’d miss the flight because the one from London was so delayed (thanks Phil!). Basically: great food; well looked after; “officially not a hotel so hush-hush”; and AIRCON!!! I felt it was cheating until I turned it on. Then I just didn’t care.</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU_mJkBYlPI/AAAAAAAAAC0/xCzWQAyPkzs/s1600/Gregoire%2527s+bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU_mJkBYlPI/AAAAAAAAAC0/xCzWQAyPkzs/s400/Gregoire%2527s+bike.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">On the back of Gregoire’s bike – he helped me out massively driving me around to places I could buy replacement stuff.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m going to skip the rest of the week for now, and focus on the weekend. Some of the guys I’m moving in with next week were heading out to Grand Popo, on the coast right by the Togo border. I thought I’d join them.</span><br />
<br />
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</span> </div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU-3Jj6V-yI/AAAAAAAAACA/vqctWrkq1rI/s400/beach.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="267" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">THE BEACH! Yep, this is Benin’s “most popular tourist spot”. How true – at one stage there were two of us in the sea at the same time, which was outrageous.</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU_knsl5CRI/AAAAAAAAACw/PYA5fqkUDoU/s1600/room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU_knsl5CRI/AAAAAAAAACw/PYA5fqkUDoU/s400/room.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sticking with the theme of showing you where I sleep at night, this was the view from my room at Grand Popo, just off the beach.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU-3Jj6V-yI/AAAAAAAAACA/vqctWrkq1rI/s1600/beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU-3Keeyb3I/AAAAAAAAACQ/Y0OceUJI8ZQ/s1600/Pirogue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU-3Keeyb3I/AAAAAAAAACQ/Y0OceUJI8ZQ/s400/Pirogue.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We took a quick punting trip up the river – Africa-style in a pirogue, not the flat bottom boats of Oxford. Grand Popo is the home of Voodoo (or rather Vodoun as it should be written) so this was a quick intro to the “religion” – I won’t elaborate here as I’m hoping to do something a little fuller on the subject later. </span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">As part of our little boat tour we did a walk around a traditional Vodoun village seeing all the fetiches etc. I felt a little awkward doing this in a poor remote village (“look at the rich white man coming to stare and take photos”) until we reached a group having a Sunday afternoon tipple. Not to back down in a cultural confrontation, I obviously drank whatever it was they gave me (“African gin” – felt like white spirit. Still, the UK’s name is safe in this village). After that I had this strange, euphoric feeling and a general love for all things………….</span><br />
<br />
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<br />
<div align="left"><br />
</div><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU-3J-t0aPI/AAAAAAAAACE/LlWjhZ50gO8/s1600/fishers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="267" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU-3J-t0aPI/AAAAAAAAACE/LlWjhZ50gO8/s400/fishers.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Local fisher boys out collecting shrimp and catfish in a pirogue. Later in the day Maude, one of my companions on the trip, was taking photos of sea fishermen pulling in the day’s catch until one of them starting chasing her around with a stick shouting angrily…</span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU_kmZNCV6I/AAAAAAAAACs/HelObQ_Zg_o/s1600/room2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU_kmZNCV6I/AAAAAAAAACs/HelObQ_Zg_o/s400/room2.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This week’s final instalment of “where I sleep” – I’ve temporarily moved to someone’s roof, where local cats come to sleep on my face every night. Nice.</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU-3KOOOhPI/AAAAAAAAACM/noNoYYzwzFc/s1600/hammock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2PEK7GMF_LU/TU-3KOOOhPI/AAAAAAAAACM/noNoYYzwzFc/s400/hammock.jpg" width="267" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">And a little something to leave you with. As I say, sometimes it can be very hard, helping.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-11366050250188795442011-02-03T21:38:00.000+01:002011-02-03T21:38:48.119+01:00Bags and Bribes: Bienvenue au Benin<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Saturday 29th January, 10:45pm. </span></strong><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Air Brussels flight comes cruising into Cotonou, Benin, and I look out the window to... darkness.</span><br />
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now I'm not trying to have a Joseph Conrad moment here, but it was a genuinely impressive sight to see just how little ambient light comes up from the country or indeed the capital - you can pick out individual flickers here and there, some white (halogens) but mostly yellow (sodium and quite a few fires).</span></em><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My time in Benin kicks off pretty promisingly - off the plane early and cruise through customs with barely a look and a "bang" as the stamp comes down on the passport. No questions asked.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm through to baggage claim and in for a rude awakening...</span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cotonou Airport, Benin. 11:15pm.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The first bag arrives, one of the first – great. I watch the numbers dwindle around me as the bag feed slows and eventually stops, the three of us left look at each other with a mixture of puzzlement and worry.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I look next to my boarding pass stub - my bag tags had been taken off me at the transit stop in Brussels. The worry deepens.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>I haul my single bag then through to the baggage claim man. On the way, the scrupulous baggage checkers see an opportunity as I can't verify it belongs to me. "Don't worry about it sir, that's fine. Enjoy your stay".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well that's nice at least.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I turn away a hand grasps my elbow, “You have been to Cotonou? You know how it works here? Something for a little Coca-Cola?”. This turns out to be the first of many “donations” tonight…</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“No tag, no bag”, granted maybe a poetic translation but reflects the initial response from the man sitting comfortably in his air conditioned office (it’s around this time I realise I’m still wearing a cashmere jumper and the real heat overload starts).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After some pretty insistent pleading, and what I thought was placating type into a DOS programme on his part, he turns with a triumphant smile on his face, “Je l’ai trouve!”. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">$5 to the man. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bag in Brussels. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Next flight in three days. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Come back then". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Who needs trousers anyway.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I emerge from baggage claim. <em>I'll sort it later from the hotel, </em>i think to myself. I look around at the drivers assembled. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>Hotel Ibis </em>- No. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>Hotel L'Entente - </em>No. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>Hotel Mirage - </em>No.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">No driver. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Damn. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I look to my phone - no number for the hotel. 6% battery, no access to internet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'll do it the old fashioned way.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My loose dollars are spent (I realise I should have more, and local currency would help too…) so my next stop is the bureau de change. I know it’s not strictly a bribe, but late night exchange rates tend to include a sort of special commission; “ah, $20 notes? The rate is less then…”</span><br />
Damn.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Note to self: bring $100 notes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Next up, the security guard at the exit of the airport. I know better than to ask for his help but it’s late and I’m reaching boiling point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Yes I find a taxi. Where you going? I don’t know it. What neighbourhood? I don’t know it. This is my friend, he drives.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I look down to my available cash. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">No loose change from the teller at the bureau. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I hand him lowest value note I have.</span><br />
Damn.<br />
Note to self: never convert that value to Sterling.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I get into the taxi. A nagging feeling arises - something that I should have remembered - one of the sacred rules of travelling. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh yes, there it is; Always Negotiate First. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Damn. Damn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“8,000CFA,” sixteen dollars. Although I don’t know where we’re going, I’m sure that’s a rip off but there’s surprisingly little bargaining power as we start driving away. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Damn. Damn. Damn.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And as we drive I get a chance to take a deep breath and gather my wits; I’ve just asked a “security man” to ask his “friend” to drive me somewhere where he “knows the area” – although clearly not the guesthouse. I realise I'm a white guy, alone, in a completely unknown west African city, with a valuable hoard of electronics in the back of the taxi, and no phone numbers to call.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Damn Damn Damn.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For a couple of minutes we drive up a main boulevard.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Streetlights - check</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">People - not so much</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's hot. Unvelievably hot. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm tired. It's now 12:30am.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My nerves start to play tricks on me.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We pull off the main boulevard into a dirt road immersed in only darkness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another piece of common travel advice - at night, no lights equals no go.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">Damn Damn Damn.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">At this stage the worst horror stories of tourist in Africa start manifesting themselves in my mind.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Attendez ici".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm alone. A couple of shadowy figures emerge out of the darkness, congregating on the taxi.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">damn damn damn damn damn damn.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And as quickly as my panic started 15 minutes earlier, it's dashed with typical African joviality. The driver returns - still no hotel, but starts bantering with the others - it's clear to me this is all honest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was being silly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">RELIEF.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With 4% battery left I go to the ultimate, ever-helpful last point of call.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Mum"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"How are you! Tell me all about it!"</span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">3%</span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Not really the time - Help"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And with seconds to spare before my iPhone dies before me, I've got it. A number. We call. We're there. As in it's literally right behind us.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The hotel boy comes out to greet me.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Bienvenue au Benin monsieur!".</span>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7765644956395111186.post-87741401963481359272011-01-27T13:56:00.001+01:002011-02-03T13:20:24.693+01:00Welcome and Goodbye<i>Hi to everyone who's made it this far, thanks for the interest!</i><br />
<br />
So it's Thursday, 27th January, and in 2 days I say goodbye to London and head to Benin. Predictably unpacked and unready.<br />
<br />
But before I go, here's a quick introduction to my trip; as my blogs progress over the next few months you'll hopefully get much more flavour for what it is I'm up to and why.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Background.</b><br />
Well, I've spent the past couple of years in London making wonderful use of my chemistry degree by working in management consulting...<br />
<br />
<b>2. Timelines.</b><br />
A few months ago I made the decision to move on to an MBA starting in late 2011. With acceptances coming out at the end of 2010, it didn't take long for me to figure out there's at least 6 months between those. Anyone who knows me probably guessed I was coming up with a plan...<br />
<br />
<b>3. Along Came Kiva</b><br />
As much as I pine for the Full Moon party in thailand, it seems that travelling gap years (aka Garp Yars) have gone a little out of fashion, so I needed something a little more substantial. You know, doing something worthwhile, lasting, meaningful, etc etc. Though obviously somewhere very hot, very sunny, and ideally with a beach.<br />
My thanks therefore to Nicki, for introducing me to the wonderful world of Kiva, microfinance, and development. (MUCH more on all these over the next months, don't worry). <br />
In a nutshell - it's a website (<a href="http://www.kiva.org/">http://www.kiva.org/</a>), it connects you and me to entrepreneurs all over the developing world, and allows you to provide credit to them which they pay back in full (assuming their business venture is successful).<br />
<br />
Kiva Fellows are people who give up their lives for a few months and go to these places to make sure everything's dandy. <br />
<br />
No pay, no expenses, isolated, and no more London living conditions. How could I resist?<br />
<br />
<b>4. And Now I Actually Have To Go Through With It.</b><br />
<br />
<i><b>So please keep an eye out for my stories here (go on, add this page to your favourites. Maybe even your homepage. That would be great.) and I promise to give you a taste of something a little different.</b></i>Gareth Davieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08222866038757367092noreply@blogger.com3