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.