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Week One in Namibia for the MicroLoan Foundation
Hello all, I finally made it to Ongwediva and am now settled at my little desk in my corner of the globe hoping against hope that I actually can finish the assignment that I have come here to do. I have my action plan on the desk and with the help of Faith, Programme Director and Anna, the loan officer I am confident that the task will be completed.
Anywho, let me start by talking about my new place of work. It’s a very lovely little office. I know some of you were expecting me to say I am working in a little mud hut surrounding by men in loin cloths and bare-chested women with babies hanging off their backs. Sorry to disappoint!!!
Right, now I have to remember on am on African time. Unfortunately I did not and I waited for 25 minutes before the Programme Director, Faith, of the little organisation that I work for came to pick me up. Never-mind, the office is a little more that a mile from my accommodation and with that in mind I decided that I will walk to and from work from this point on.
The office is located behind the SPAR supermarket (Ongwediva) on the 1st floor and it actually only occupies one room. There are three normal sized desks and many chairs. I assume these are for visitors? For all you tea connoisseurs, yes there is tea to be had. There is the local bran of Rooibos and of course there is the good old Red Rose English Tea.
So back to how I spent my first day. The day went fairly quickly actually, I am not sure how that happened as I thought for sure I would be gagging to go by lunch time. The work day, gasp gasp, is from 08:00 to 17:00!!! WHAT?? I am on a career break for goodness sake. No one said anything about working the same long hours as before. What on earth will I do!!!
I was lucky enough to meet one of the groups that MLF (micro loan foundation) has loaned money to. As it happens, yesterday was a collection day for this group and there were around 7 women at this little meeting. The meeting was held at an abandoned shell of a building, with only one wall. I think this was one of the buildings bombed out during the South African occupation. What a strange place to meet I thought. Especially as the women all had their monthly repayment with them and the area was desolate and isolated.
This is more or less the norm; MLF groups meet where they feel most comfortable and where the group can all get to. It was a central location and MLF has been using this location for this particular group. The officers at MLF are very much based in the community getting to know the groups and the areas in which the work and live in. I found that to be a lovely thing in that the officers were not just desk based but were very hands on.
I happily introduced myself and asked exactly what each woman did. No-one answered initially and they were actually not forthcoming with information. It turns out they did not truly understand what I was saying so the Loan officer Anna translated for me! I have never had a translator before and I was quite sad that I really could not understand the language I was looking forward to truly communicating with these women and getting to know what they were all about.
I learnt that the women in this group did a variety of things, from hairdressing to fruit vendor to clothing seller. Quite a varied loan portfolio and they apparently work well together. MLF was providing them with their second loan. What was even more surprising was that these women only received approximately £60 each to start up a business. Perspective is a remarkable thing as I cannot imagine £60 being a lucrative start up capital in the western world unless it’s used in a sure bet gambling prospect!!!
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