I Think That Jad Guy Was Abducted by Aliens...

Hello everyone…I know it’s been some time since I’ve been in touch with most of you. In case you've stumbled upon this Blog and you have no idea who I am, I'll do a quick intro. My name is Jad, and I'm an engineering student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. This summer, I’m in Ghana, West Africa on a placement with Engineers without Borders (EWB). EWB is an international development organisation that promotes poverty alleviation through access to appropriate technologies. Most members get involved with EWB through chapters at universities across the country (like the one at UBC, ubc.ewb.ca), or as part of professional chapters for those in the workforce. The organisation’s name may suggest that their work is technical in nature, but that’s not necessarily the case (in fact, membership is not exclusive to people in technical fields). Although some of EWB’s overseas projects have technical elements, many of them focus on working with people. I could say more about EWB, but I lot of the information is available at www.ewb.ca.

A bit of a disclaimer: I wanted to start-off the Blog by describing the work aspect of my placement, something that can seem kinda dry when out of context. If you find this post boring, it's not necessarily representative of future posts.

I’ve been partnered with an organisation called Rural Enterprises Project (REP). REP (http://www.rep2.org/) aims to reduce poverty and improve living conditions in rural areas primarily through small businesses, often referred to as Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE). Explaining REP is tricky because there are many stakeholders involved, but I’ll try my best to share only the important details. To do that, I have to start with how the country’s organised geographically. Ghana is divided into regions (10 of them), and the regions are composed of districts (138 in total), and the districts are composed of various towns and villages. A Canadian equivalent may be Ontario (region), Greater Toronto Area (district), and Scarborough ('town').

REP has offices at the national, zonal (a zone is a clump of regions), and district levels. Management of the project happens at the national and zonal offices. Project implementation happens at the district level (by project implementation, I mean interacting directly with the people who are called 'clients' of REP). Ideally, these clients are female ‘rural poor’…women living in poverty in rural communities. I’ll explain the focus on women later in this post. I’m working at the district level (in Sissala East District), and I’m living in a town called Tumu (the location of Tumu is shown in the picture below).

So, what types of things does REP do in the districts? Well, there are 4 main categories…I’ll summarise them in a list (a fair bit of detail has been left out):

1) Business Development Services (BDS): This category is best discussed in three sub-categories.

• Skills Training (education in a new trade/skill): the first step is visiting villages in the district to inform them of the services offered by REP. Once a village has expressed interest, the second step is to find out what they consider to be their assets and needs, and then to identify their interest in a new trade/skill. The third step is organising training in the selected trade/skill, facilitated by an expert in the trade/skill. By the end of the training, the participants have the knowledge to produce a new product (e.g. soap, tie and die clothing, and beads for jewellery, to mention a few), or to deliver a new service.
  
• Business Counselling (advice on business related challenges): usually, a client comes into the office for one-on-one discussion. Check out a picture of the office (also known as the Business Advisory Centre, or BAC) below.
  
• Management Training (education in management of a business): training in records keeping, training in customer care etc.

2) Rural Financial Services (support for business start-up and expansion through financial resources and awareness): access to credit/small loans with reduced interest rates based on some criteria, training in banking culture, training in credit management etc.

3) Soft Skills in Business (focus on the people side of business): training in group dynamics, training in leadership skills etc.

4) Support to Apprentices (support that is specific to those educated through apprenticeship): Access to a fund for newly graduated apprentices; help in acquiring tools and equipment to get started etc.

I’ll wrap-up with a summary of the intended benefits of REP’s services:

1) Employment: Generating additional income, diversifying sources of income through non-farming activities that help reduce vulnerability to low-yielding harvests etc.

2) Environmental Management: Relieving pressure on the land and forests (e.g. reduced deforestation) etc.

3) Economic Empowerment: Acquiring new skills, receiving small loans etc.

4) Social Impact: Improving the income of rural women to increase expenditure on family education and health etc.

5) Policy Goals: Encouraging policy that supports MSEs etc.

One of the posts that I have planned in the near future will demonstrate some of the services in practice, using photos and stories . For now though, the internet café is about to close…more to come soon.