Feb 2nd 2010 - 2nd day at work

Well I started work yesterday and office hours are suppose to be from 7h30 to 15h30 but they seem more like 8h30 to 15h00 with a lot of talking in between but not an awful lot of work. They are having a hard time attracting students to their classes. The staff at IPD-AOS is comprised of 4 people in the management group/instructors and 14 support staff including finance, accounting, cook, reception, marketing, photocopier attendant, librarian, admin assistant, maintenance, and not sure about others. And right now they have 4 students ... I think I already figured out on how to save some money but not sure about their labour laws here.

First day was to familiarize myself with some of the history and challenges. Today I was formely introduced to the staff and as they were asked to question me it was clear that they expected me to contribute to their organisation by going to the Canadian Embassy for funds. I told them that I was there to help them in their strategic planning efforts, that it seemed to me that the ultimate goal of IPD-AOS was to become self sufficient in the long run and that together we had a find a way of attaining that goal - but that the solutions were going to come from them - and I only was going to provide them with some tools to facilitate their thinking process. I was not going to find funds but would help them put together a plan and if they needed funds that they in fact would be responsible for doing so. I think they were in a little bit of shock to know that I was there to transfer my know-how but they were responsible for the outcome - not what they expected but hopefully they will see that it is the best way of ensuring their long-term viability.

So already I am getting the Director to accept the Organisational Development process which needs to involve everybody - and in the meantime he is to look into the feasibility of providing night classes which may interest those who need to work during the day and willing to increase their competencies at night. There is a lot to do - but as I mentionned to them that if failure is an option then we go that way but if it is not we need to start putting together an action plan which they will need to implement - time will tell on how that will go. Hopefully they still have enough pride in the organisation that they will do something positive.

I also tested my first Maquis for lunch and had some Riz Gras with piece of fish - basically a big bowl of rice fried in oil with some vegetables and a piece of fried fish - not real good for the diet but it was tasty. Keeps you full for the rest of the day and for the modest price of 400F CFA (not quite $1). But really clean and good Maquis are hard to find - most have furniture from the 1950s, a pack of flies roaming around, some hungry cats meowing and not sure about the cleanliness of their utensils or plates - but I had to try for the experience (not to be repeated very often).

Well that was my day and even though I didn't do much I am tired - the heat really takes its toll on the level of energy one has.