Three Million Dollars

Loan disbursements. This is the business end of the 'access to capital' aspect of LEAD's four-fronted approach to development which includes business training, mentoring, advocacy and well, you guessed it, access to capital. This is also the activity that has dominated our schedule for the past several weeks.

After completing business training classes and saving the required amounts, LEAD clients receive loans relative to the amount that they have saved. This process is not a simple one. In order to get the physical cash-in-hand to our business clientele, we must first secure the said funds. This is perhaps the most difficult aspect of the process. Most of our loans are given out in Liberian dollars (68 of which are worth 1 US dollar, as of today), however, in order to get our hands on the necessary cash Allen, our National Director, and AB, our Finance Officer, have spent many, MANY, hours at the banks, trying to get enough cash.

LEAD's Buchanan staff Prince, Massa and Matthew prepare for a long day of disbursements.

Its not a simple matter of running to the bank and picking up a cashier's check. Instead, we must find a bank with enough actual money (which can take days, even at the main branch office in Monrovia), find a parking space close to the bank's doors, count up the Liberian dollars (a few million for each disbursement) in 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 dollar bills and pile them into suitcases and rice bags, load it all up into the waiting car, and then speed off into the sunset.

AB with one of the rice sacks full a' dough.

Ben, lookin' good, while he waits for the next client.

After arriving at whichever branch office, my job has been to work with our clients to get the appropriate loan agreements signed. Once this is done, they are called in for an interview with Allen, before continuing on to another room to receive further instruction on how to repay the loan, and to get the actual funds from Ben and AB.

Pastor (okay, I forget his last name) receives a loan to expand his bakery.

The atmosphere is understandably tense. For LEAD clients, these loans mean the difference between continuing on with life at the status quo, and expanding their businesses in order to better provide for the livelihoods of their families. Furthermore, in an impoverished country like Liberia, to travel with any large amount of cash on hand is never advised.

Two LEAD clients hire a moto-taxi to take them and their loans back home.

Finally, receiving a large amount of cash right before Christmas is a very trying undertaking. The holiday season in Liberia, like anywhere else, is a time when friends, family and employees have expectations to receive gifts, party invites, and year-end bonuses. The social pressure to 'invest' loan funds in things other than business is enormous, and LEAD clients must be credited for being quite diligent in separating their personal and business finances.

The LEAD staff must also be given huge props for their hand in all of this. Between recruitment, screening, training, interviews and preparation, each county office has an enormous amount of legwork to do before the national staff arrives at the door with the bags-o-money. The national staff also have a great deal of work when they (myself included) undertake the exhausting travel away from home to each of the county offices.

I've really appreciated these trips as a way to grow closer to Allen, AB and Ben, our IT officer. Debates over the merits of Chelsea vs. Manchester United football teams, or conversations of the legal implications of allowing the international community to prosecute former president Charles Taylor have been a great way to learn about and bond with my coworkers, and are a great way to test if you are still able to understand Liberian English while concentrating on dodging enormous potholes, in the dark, with one headlight.

These trips are not without their downfalls. After drinking some bad water, or perhaps some bad grilled 'street meat' (or was it that mosquito bite?), I got quite sick while helping to disburse loans in Ganta. With only a 'squatty potty' and limited toilet paper, I was not a happy camper. On the way home we took a quick break at Paulma's Guesthouse, an establishment owned by a LEAD client, where I decided fruit juice would be a good choice to calm my stomach: a mistake. I'll spare my readers the details, but it was an uncomfortable five hour drive home on the bumpy roads.

Waiting on my pillow at the guesthouse in Buchanan (actual size, but evidently not living).

Today is December 23. Two days to Christmas and the official due date of my sister Karen and my brother-in-law Dave's second child! I definitely miss home but Allen has invited me to his home town (five hours back up north!) for Christmas. I'm beginning to make some good friends here in Monrovia and its feeling more like home.

As they say in Liberia, "Benefits of the season."

Take care folks,
Derek

Ducor Hotel

A few shots of/from the Ducor Hotel, a former 5-star hotel crowning Liberia's capital atop Ducor Hill.


I had a bunch of great wordy and (what I thought were) insightful thoughts on how the present state of the hotel could allude to a metaphor of lofty aspirations of greatness that were undermined by violence but how Liberia is now poised for a slow but steady comeback,

but I proof-read it and decided it just looked like I was trying too hard. Ha!

-Some kids having fun sliding down to the deep end on plastic 6 gallon water jugs

In any case, a few weeks after arriving in Monrovia I thought I'd venture to Ducor Hotel because I heard it was the best place to catch some bird's eye view shots of the city. The Nigerian UN peacekeeper guarding the entrance encouraged me to climb to the top where I could then see the ocean to the south, as well as the peninsula on which Monrovia rests stretching out to the east, and the outskirts reaching out past 'New Bridge' off to the north and west.

The Ducor Hotel, I'm told, used to be a bit of an icon for Liberia as it hoped to serve as a figurehead of progress and development in West Africa. The wealthy and influential would come from the surrounding countries to stay, have meetings, do business, and relax. Unfortunately, during the war, the hotel was repeatedly looted, with its 300 rooms eventually serving as homes for squatters.


Rumors have been spreading for some time now that contracts have been signed which will allow the hotel to be rebuilt but other than the eviction of the squatters, there is no evidence that work will begin any time soon.


Okay, so I'm still trying to draw lines between the Ducor Hotel and the greater Liberian situation in general... so how about this: 25 years of political instability can do a shocking amount of damage. While the situation is changing, it is estimated that it will take much longer to rebuild than it took to tear the country down. There is much work to be done but Liberians are hopeful for change, and that it may come as soon as possible.


Tomorrow is the runoff election for the Montserrado County senator position. Monrovia is buzzing with energy (and we all get the day off!)

18 Mountains

Last night, after 10 days on the road, it was great to make it back to my home in Monrovia. Last Sunday, Renita Reed (the West Africa Regional Facilitator for Partners Worldwide) and myself left for Danane, Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) where we would be holding a training session for a new Partners Worldwide affiliate organization called ACLCP. Similar to LEAD, ACLCP will be offering business training, loans, mentoring and advocacy. What sets ACLCP apart from LEAD is that it is located in in the rural 18 Mountains region of Cote d'Ivoire and at least half of its clients are involved in either agricultural or animal farming.

Allen dropped Renita and myself off at the parking station for taxis on their way to the road leading north. We took taxis to Ganta, and after staying the night and stopping to visit with the LEAD staff there, Renita and I made our way to the Ganta parking station for the road leading to the Cote d'Ivoire border. After negotiating for seats in an old beat-up 4x4 (Renita graciously let me sit up front) we set out on the four hour trip on what proved to be the single worst road I've ever been down. Our driver's name was Dodge, so I asked him if he'd been given the name for his ability to avoid potholes. 'Haha, ah..... no." was his answer.

After negotiating our way through customs, we were met by Dea Leiu, the National Director and ACLCP's Treasurer Luc. Another hour's drive got us to Danane where we met Dea's family, many of the ACLCP staff and Gert and Machteld Kollehonven, a couple from Ontario who served as translators and teachers for the week.

Our main objectives for the week were to provide trainings for the Board as well as for the staff who will later be teaching ACLCP's business training classes. The classes were great and appreciated by the staff (and I learned a few things myself). A highlight of the weeks training was when the ACLCP staff took turns role playing as teachers and businessowners which was naturally a bit entertaining. I played the role of ignorant businessowner who intended to build a cement block making enterprise in Danane but did not have a real understanding of the local customers who actually prefer mud blocks which are cooler in the hot sun (and stop bullets, unlike their cement counterparts).

Another highlight was our visit to ACLCP's training farm. This farm is owned by the local church denomination but has been training local farmers how to raise chickens, escargot and grasscutters (imagine a large groundhog) and also grow rice and other crops. The farm is currently under reconstruction after it was looted by rebel soldiers in 2002 but it is easy to imagine how amazing it must have looked. With a building for classroom, a house, dorms, and several barns, etc. this place is all set to go to do the oh-so-important work of equipping Liberian farmers. Pictures simply don't do justice. Any French speakers wanting to learn about agriculture in Cote d'Ivoire while living in a spectacularly beautiful setting must check this out. AMAZING!
After a great week, it was time to head back to Monrovia. On Saturday evening Machteld ceremoniously named 'Mother of ACLCP and the 18 Mountains Region' while Gert and myself were each given the honorous title of Brothers. Machteld was given a dress and Gert and I were given shirts, the name of which means 'shirt worn by the chief as he rides triumphantly on his horse'. I'd like to think that means I should wear it proudly while cruising the Monrovia streets on my bright green minibike.

After attending Church on Sunday morning Dea gave us a ride to the Liberian border. A little bit of context here: Cote d'Ivoire is currently suffering from political instability. The conflict began in 2002, and while the fighting slowed down after 2004, promised of elections have routinely been delayed. While there is little active conflict presently, the country is still divided with much of the country (Danane included) under the military control of rebel forces. The rebels don't cause too much trouble but they are a nuisance, demanding money a checkpoints and the boarder, and while they are the acting police force, they provide little security for the Ivoirian citizens.

I was understandably happy to see Bangladeshi UN troops observing the crossing, as it made for a much easier passage. Unfortunately for Renita and myself, there were no taxis waiting on the other side.... Instead, our bags were strapped to the back of 125cc minibikes which carried us, our bags and our drivers back to Ganta (the aforementioned worst road ever in my life, etc.). To say Renita and I were exhausted and dusty by the end of it would be a rude understatement. We took much needed showers before cashing in for the night. After leaving Ganta the next morning, we stopped in at the Gbarnga LEAD office to audit some files before trekking back to Monrovia.

I find that trips like this are often better told with pictures rather than words. Check out my picasa account (to the right) for more photos.

Mentoring Program Provides New Opportunities for Business Development

Feeling both guilty for not having posted anything recently, and yet a bit lazy on my day off (Liberian Thanksgiving), I thought I'd post a story I wrote for the upcoming Partners Worldwide newsletter. Check it out.



Isaiah Teah sets his cell to speakerphone and leans in to make himself heard more clearly. Outside, workers shovel sand off the back of a dump truck as he prepares to begin his second mentoring phone call.

“The plan of the business is to grow large and be able to serve the public and then have branches at strategic areas where I will be able to do my business better. I have a few questions for you and I have some things that I have trouble with in the business and I need you to please help me, to give me some ideas, because there are some things that I apply but that are still not easy for me.”

On the other end of the line sit Don Teitsma, Isaiah’s mentor, and Theo Ndawillie, the mentoring coordinator for LEAD’s Grand Rapids affiliate. Don, a business owner of five years, is eager to put his business experience to work in a mentoring relationship.

“When the mentoring opportunity came up, I thought this would be a good fit. It only makes sense that we can help business owners over there get established and get a profitable business going. I realize that the different cultures may present some challenges but I am very open to learn myself and explore ideas that may work over there in Liberia. This is really a great mission challenge to allow the power of God to work in the lives over there and here.”

Isaiah owns Creative Joinery, a furniture company and cement block factory. Isaiah joined LEAD in 2007 and completed its 12 week business training course. “Oh I learned a lot of things and it is what I am now applying. I learned how to save. I learned how to manage my workers; to manage them to perform. I also learned how to talk to customers, and how to use business strategies to get into the market.”

In 2008 Isaiah used a loan from LEAD to purchase a cement block making machine and he now competes with Liberia’s largest block manufacturer. He has been able to attract plenty of customers, most recently through a contract with a Chinese company building low-income housing for the Liberian government.


As his business expands, Isaiah struggles to meet his cash flow needs because of the increased demand for his blocks. “If you check the book of Malachi chapter 3:8, the bible says that we should pay tithes and offerings and that God will open the door to heaven and bring down blessings. I do that frequently but sometimes I catch difficulties because sometimes I see more customers coming and I will then need more money to produce. I can be tempted by the devil to put that money into the block business to get more blocks to build the business up. So I’m praying; I want to use your strategies that you are using because if I do that I believe God will bring this business to the highest level. “

Isaiah is one of several clients participating in LEAD’s new mentoring program. Started in July, this program is connecting LEAD’s strongest entrepreneurs with North American businesspeople in mentoring relationships. These non-financial relationships give North American businesspeople the opportunity to use their business skills and experience to directly affect the lives of businesspeople in the developing world through encouragement, prayer and business advice, and provide some of Liberia’s most exciting entrepreneurs a person to bounce ideas off of and to grow alongside them in friendship.

Through bi-weekly phone calls, spontaneous emails and a weeklong in-county visit, mentors and mentees are able to develop a strong rapport. Members of LEAD’s mentoring program appreciate tapping into a wealth of insights and business experience that would not otherwise be available to them. Mama Sallie, a member of the program and owner of Paulma’s Restaurant and Guesthouse in Gbarnga is building a strong relationship with her mentors George and Monique Stevens and is now reporting increased profits of $50US per day.

Meanwhile, as Isaiah begins his mentoring relationship, he looks forward to building his mentoring relationship with Don. “As mentor, I want to ask you what strategies you are using to overcome these things so that I myself will be able to apply them. Mentor me so that I can be honorable to God because he is the one who has given me this opportunity.”

Its raining, but I have coffee!

I’m writing this from the Royal Hotel, a location perhaps as prestigious as the name implies; certainly by Monrovian standards. After waiting out the rain for an hour this morning, I tried to venture out for the twenty minute trip down Tubman Boulevard to the downtown LEAD office but only made it as far as the business district called Sinkor before the rain picked up, drenching my pants. Secretly pleased, I knew I’d have the luxury of speedy internet and a cup of brewed coffee so I pulled in to do a little work before heading on to the office after it stops pouring.

These types of delays are normal but my Western sense of regimented timeliness often conflicts with good common sense and finds me squinting through the rain with pants soaked and sand off road grinding between my teeth, trying to make it to work before 9:01 AM. So I’m learning to relax, and I’m beginning to accept delays but it’s frustrating that even after a few other international experiences I still have so much more to learn.

I’m finding that my experience in Liberia is far removed from any other international experience I’ve had so far. My semester at the University of Ghana was in an academic setting with a group of other Calvin College students and the Dominican Republic was spent with a close friend in entirely difference setting. My time here in Liberia is in a work setting, for a much longer period of time and I came here alone. I’m enjoying the opportunity to dig in and do work, and settle down and live in a new country but I’m finding the process of starting from scratch making new friends and finding my place in a new work setting to be a challenge.

That said, as I bring myself to cross cultural lines and invest time to learn about those people living and working around me, I’m finding myself surrounded by fascinating individuals with unique experiences very different from the stories of the people I’ve grown up with. Liberia’s history is unique and its living citizens have experienced a lot of history in the past few decades, each with their own story. Thank you to everyone who has been encouraging me over the past several weeks! Please continue to keep me accountable as I fight the temptation to withdraw from those around me and push me to find the time and energy to seek out their friendship and advice.

I’m happy to report that I have a new apartment! My roommate Jennah is a Liberian who moved to Georgia when she was 5 and has recently returned to work in President Sirleaf’s office. Our apartment is located off ‘Old Road’ and is one of 6 apartments in our building. Our second floor unit has a good view of the neighborhood around us and I’m happy to report we have running water most days and we may even be hooked up to the power grid in the next few weeks! The Scottish guy living on the main floor even has two dogs who welcome me when I arrive home each day.

Well, that is all for now. I’ll be sure to post more often and try to be more in contact. I have a new phone number (dial 00 to get out of the country, 231 for the Liberia country code and then my number 77135923). Also, once I get to taking more pictures you’ll be able to find them on my Picasa page at http://picasaweb.google.com/Derek.Hoogland. This post was supposed to have pictures included but I'm having no luck with that this morning.

Hello everyone! I'm here in Liberia and glad to be here. Allen (National Director) and Andrew (Montserrado County Manager) met me at the airport Sunday night and we headed back into Monrovia. I've had a chance to see only a few things so far so I'm excited to find an apartment, get settled and do some exploring.

I had a good time doing some intensive book shopping before I left and was able to find most of what I was looking for. Keep an eye out for the occasional book review to be posted here.
Blue Clay People is the story of William Powers’ two year stint in Liberia working with the Catholic Relief Services with the humble goal of ‘fighting poverty and saving the rainforest’. The Liberia that Powers saw in 1999 was one that was enduring the worst of what had been decades of civil war and was not yet in the clear.

This book took me by surprise, not because it was a graphic depiction of wartime violence – its not – but because while the book describes a period of time that ended not that long ago (with the 2005 election of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf), it is a very different situation now that it was then. In my un-expert option based purely on my experience with LEAD and my conversations and observations over the past few days, Liberia seems to have come a long way. While Monrovia contrasts enormously with the only other African capital I can compare it to (Accra), the country is rebuilding and the mood is generally optimistic. I’ve heard a common theme from many sources: ‘the war was bad, long and ended recently; let’s do what it takes to make sure that doesn’t happen again.’

I especially appreciated Power’s discussion of aid and dependency. If there is one theme he wants to hammer home, this is it. He constantly struggles with the long term outcome of his work which largely involves distributing food aid. He tries to keep his readers aware of the larger development issues of long term sustainability while keeping in mind the immediate needs.
Finally, Blue Clay People was helpful for its insight into Liberian culture. It’s been a great primer on the Liberian way of life, and what motivates them, and of course any and all help you can get on Liberian English will go a long way. Thanks for the suggestion Karen!

Other fun tidbits:

Liberia has a dual currency system and accepts the US dollar. I only now got my hands on some Liberian Dollars (and the exchange rate makes you feel rich!).

While there are apparently tons of American Expats living in Monrovia (The US embassy in Liberia is the largest in Africa), it was only yesterday that I saw my first white person since leaving the airport Sunday night.

I have a new number! Call me from the US and Canada by dialing 023-077-135-923. Calls and texts are surprisingly cheap from here to NA.

Time to go. I miss you.
Derek

Almost time!

With only two days until I leave, I'm VERY excited to be joining the rest of the LEAD staff soon. I'm stressing a bit over all the last minute details related to pulling up roots and heading overseas for a year but its finally all coming together.

Today's most exciting errand was to the Schulers to pick up a number of recommended books which ought to keep me occupied for quite some time. Stay tuned for book reviews!

A word on the blog title. Follow the LEADer later occurred to me as a bit ironic. Reeds in the Wind, A Lion in Africa? Please, I could never come up with something that clever but with all the pressure to come up with something unique this was the best I could come up with! :) In fact, in the coming year I hope to be doing everything BUT leading. Be sure to check out the staff photos on the LEAD website to see the folks I'll be working with. I've heard nothing but impressive things about them and their work and I can't wait to join them and learn what I can!

Anywho, equipped with a good book list, a Liberian visa, a great group of friends and family supporting me and my new chacos I'm feeling ready to take on this new opportunity. Please stay tuned for more updates, stories and photos of my time in Liberia!

Under Construction: Coming Soon!

Hi everyone! I'm just getting my new blog started. My nifty new counter reads '6' which means we're getting traffic already. But don't worry, this will soon be your best resource for all things 'Derek in Liberia', complete with updates, photos, stories and more! Thanks for stopping by and come back soon.