Gifts from the FINCOOP
Presenting Certificate to the President and GM
Thoko and I at the MUSSCO office Mar 5-6
Friday, March 5th was our meeting with the FINCOOP executive committee and management. We went to the office for a few hours in the morning to finalize our report and print off copies for everyone. Brad and I went to Mama Mia's for lunch that day, and as we were walking over Booby called to say that they had just arrived in Lilongwe, but would check in at the hotel before going for lunch. After lunch we headed back down to the FINCOOP as Thoko was supposed to be coming up to visit with me for awhile and attend the meeting. Thoko was waiting for us at the office, and she looked great, especially since she had been sick for the past 4 days. We had a good chat, and then held our meeting with the Board and Management. They were quite happy with our report and recommendations, and presented us with a couple of Malawi paintings at the end of the session. The President then inivited us out for supper to Don Brioni's, which is right across the street from their office, and where we had eaten the previous night. The food was quite good on Thurs. night, but I had a sirloin steak this time and it was very tough to chew. We had a great time with visiting with Thoko, Anthony, Blessings and the board members. We left the restaurant at about 10 pm and met up with the rest of the team at the hotel for a drink to end the night. Dennis and I were the last to leave and were sitting at the bar on the same corner that Brad and I usually played crib. All of a sudden there was a brown furry thing climbing over the edge of the counter, and it ran right past my arm under the cappiccino machine.....we looked at each other and said in unison "what the f*&%$ was that! Then it ran under our bar stools and headed for the corner. We were shocked, but could not help having a good laugh at our reactions and expressions. The bartender explained that it was a Malawi rat, and that it had probably eaten some of the poison they had out, because they normally don't show themselves when people are around. They can sure move though.....
Friday, March 5th was our meeting with the FINCOOP executive committee and management. We went to the office for a few hours in the morning to finalize our report and print off copies for everyone. Brad and I went to Mama Mia's for lunch that day, and as we were walking over Booby called to say that they had just arrived in Lilongwe, but would check in at the hotel before going for lunch. After lunch we headed back down to the FINCOOP as Thoko was supposed to be coming up to visit with me for awhile and attend the meeting. Thoko was waiting for us at the office, and she looked great, especially since she had been sick for the past 4 days. We had a good chat, and then held our meeting with the Board and Management. They were quite happy with our report and recommendations, and presented us with a couple of Malawi paintings at the end of the session. The President then inivited us out for supper to Don Brioni's, which is right across the street from their office, and where we had eaten the previous night. The food was quite good on Thurs. night, but I had a sirloin steak this time and it was very tough to chew. We had a great time with visiting with Thoko, Anthony, Blessings and the board members. We left the restaurant at about 10 pm and met up with the rest of the team at the hotel for a drink to end the night. Dennis and I were the last to leave and were sitting at the bar on the same corner that Brad and I usually played crib. All of a sudden there was a brown furry thing climbing over the edge of the counter, and it ran right past my arm under the cappiccino machine.....we looked at each other and said in unison "what the f*&%$ was that! Then it ran under our bar stools and headed for the corner. We were shocked, but could not help having a good laugh at our reactions and expressions. The bartender explained that it was a Malawi rat, and that it had probably eaten some of the poison they had out, because they normally don't show themselves when people are around. They can sure move though.....
March 6th we had the day off to do some more shopping at the market and just hang out until our farewell supper that evening with the MUSSCO staff. Attending the supper was our 6 Malawi Team members, Ingrid and Dereck from the CCA, Sylvester, Kingsley and Dickson from the MUSSCO office. We all met at the Lilongwe Golf club, where Brad and I had golfed on Wedndesday. We had a few drinks and appetizers (chicken livers, which most of us thought were little chunks of beef!!!) and I had one last Chambo supper before leaving the country.
It is sad to be leaving this beautiful country, and we will cherish our time spent in Malawi, and the friendships and acquaintances we have made during our 2 visits. The credit union movement in Malawi is growing quickly, and I sincerely hope that they can manage this growth and continue to prosper. Hopefully we have been able to provide them with some helpful suggestions and recommendations for their SACCOs. Even if they only implement 1 or 2 things our time here will have been successful.
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