Thursday, January 27, 2011
Sunyani Municipal Teacher's Co-op Credit Union
Damien Brady, Larkhill & District Credit Union, Dublin, Ireland and Heidi Hyokki, Interior Savings Credit Union, Kelowna, BC, Canada with the Board of the Sunyani Municipal Teacher's Co-op Credit Union
What an AMAZING day!!!!!!!!
I had the BEST DAY EVER today!!!!! It made my whole trip worthwhile.....I can hardly wait to tell you all about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I started early this morning at about 5 am, I still had some finishing touches to put on my report for the Sunyani Municipal Teacher's Co-operative Credit Union...phew what a mouthful....I think I need to teach them about acronyms here...lol! This credit union truly is amazing and they have such a vision for themselves, and all of it is for the betterment of their members and their community.....it's their only focus.....a true co-operative!
Damien and I put our finishing touches on our report, hung around the hotel and then had our driver come and get us. Our appointment was with the Board at 2:30 so we left our hotel at 2:15 as we didn't want to be too early...there is something called "Ghana Time" here which basically means you show up when you feel like it and they are notoriously late. To their credit though they live life for this very moment, so nothing is more important than what they are doing right this second so they are known for being late...a very valid excuse if you ask me....(Lois and Elenore good luck trying this one at the office with me when I get back! LOL!)......in all seriousness though...I think there just might be yet ANOTHER lesson there for us all!
So we arrived just before 2:30 and the whole Board of Directors were sitting there waiting for US...unreal! And apparently they had been waiting for over an hour!! This country and these beautiful people never cease to surprise me!
We made our presentation to the Board and they asked so many questions, it was amazing.....they want to learn and grow this credit union into something really special for the community and there is no doubt in my mind that they will, in fact I already told them when I come back to Ghana next year I am going to check up on them!
During our meeting we had an unexpected guest drop by, Mr. Darko, or the "Big Man" (a name they use here to refer to someones importance not their size) and let me tell you in the credit union world, they don't come any bigger than Mr Darko! He is the President and CEO of CUA which is the equivalent of Central 1 back home....WOW! He was passing through and had heard we were here so he just dropped by. They have this really cool custom here when someone stops by you have to spend a few minutes explaining what your mission or purpose of your visit is. Mr Darko explained he had stopped by to see us....he reiterated the importance of these coaching programs and that the credit unions in Ghana need to be open to us and our suggestions and to follow them so they can be successful...weeeelllllll....we couldn't have asked for a better endorsement! I think we are rock stars here now!! LOL!
At the end of our meeting (two and a half hours later!!!) we exchanged gifts and I received the most beautiful Ghana dress in the colours of Sunyani, and I LOVE IT....I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!! So be prepared for me to wear it to the office this summer on a nice warm day :)
My hope with this trip was to really make a contribution to the credit unions in Ghana, and today my friends, I did just that......<BIG SMILE!>...time to cross another thing off the bucket list!
Me dasi,
Akua
I started early this morning at about 5 am, I still had some finishing touches to put on my report for the Sunyani Municipal Teacher's Co-operative Credit Union...phew what a mouthful....I think I need to teach them about acronyms here...lol! This credit union truly is amazing and they have such a vision for themselves, and all of it is for the betterment of their members and their community.....it's their only focus.....a true co-operative!
Damien and I put our finishing touches on our report, hung around the hotel and then had our driver come and get us. Our appointment was with the Board at 2:30 so we left our hotel at 2:15 as we didn't want to be too early...there is something called "Ghana Time" here which basically means you show up when you feel like it and they are notoriously late. To their credit though they live life for this very moment, so nothing is more important than what they are doing right this second so they are known for being late...a very valid excuse if you ask me....(Lois and Elenore good luck trying this one at the office with me when I get back! LOL!)......in all seriousness though...I think there just might be yet ANOTHER lesson there for us all!
So we arrived just before 2:30 and the whole Board of Directors were sitting there waiting for US...unreal! And apparently they had been waiting for over an hour!! This country and these beautiful people never cease to surprise me!
We made our presentation to the Board and they asked so many questions, it was amazing.....they want to learn and grow this credit union into something really special for the community and there is no doubt in my mind that they will, in fact I already told them when I come back to Ghana next year I am going to check up on them!
During our meeting we had an unexpected guest drop by, Mr. Darko, or the "Big Man" (a name they use here to refer to someones importance not their size) and let me tell you in the credit union world, they don't come any bigger than Mr Darko! He is the President and CEO of CUA which is the equivalent of Central 1 back home....WOW! He was passing through and had heard we were here so he just dropped by. They have this really cool custom here when someone stops by you have to spend a few minutes explaining what your mission or purpose of your visit is. Mr Darko explained he had stopped by to see us....he reiterated the importance of these coaching programs and that the credit unions in Ghana need to be open to us and our suggestions and to follow them so they can be successful...weeeelllllll....we couldn't have asked for a better endorsement! I think we are rock stars here now!! LOL!
At the end of our meeting (two and a half hours later!!!) we exchanged gifts and I received the most beautiful Ghana dress in the colours of Sunyani, and I LOVE IT....I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!! So be prepared for me to wear it to the office this summer on a nice warm day :)
My hope with this trip was to really make a contribution to the credit unions in Ghana, and today my friends, I did just that......<BIG SMILE!>...time to cross another thing off the bucket list!
Me dasi,
Akua
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