Many meats make good soup (part two)

So last weekend was LEAD’s 2^nd annual conference. On Saturday, February 21, two hundred microfinance LEAD clients trekked to downtown Monrovia from Gbarnga (Bong County, three hours inland), Buchanan (Grand Bassa County, three hours south), and from all over Monrovia. We also had guests from the Ministry of Gender, USADF (Africa Development Fund), and a delegation from Partners Worldwide staff and affiliates which converged on Monrovia from Ontario, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Sierra Leone & Cote d’Ivoire.

When I last posted, I had not known what “Many meats part two” was going to be about. But I’ve spent the last week with our visitors from Partners Worldwide, and it would be impossible for me to miss the connection between my last post and the energy, inspiration & encouragement which has been shared between the LEAD staff and clients on the one hand, and our visitors from North America and West Africa on the other.

I’m reminded of something I heard a couple months ago, which I’ve mentioned here before: “You plan and you plan and you plan. And then you submit to the emergent reality.”

Well, between the week-long itinerary of our guests and the conference last Saturday, the staff and I have been planning and planning and planning. But with the arrival of our guests and the conference, I was suddenly able to stop and give myself over to the emergent reality.

We took a day-trip to Buchanan and talked with the staff about how LEAD’s programs are developing there. We visited clients and discussed barriers to growth and mentoring possibilities.

We attended the LEAD conference, and heard from Liberia’s Vice-President and one of the Finance Ministers and from various Liberian entrepreneurs about boundaries and the importance of money management and marketing tips. We had meetings about the growth of LEAD and how to work together through our internationality and cultural diversity in order to make it stronger.

The conference was catered by Betty Shannon, one of LEAD’s clients. Her restaurant, Brown Eyes, began in her living room a couple years ago. Undeterred by the fact that she lived a considerable ways back from the main road, Betty cleared a room in her house, set up tables, and put out a We’re Open sign. Today she operates a restaurant that seats about 30 people, and has 5 employees. And the best fufu in town.

On Tuesday we traveled to Gbarnga, to attend the graduation of LEAD’s 15^th NEI class. Upon completing this three month class, LEAD trainees have worked their way through completion of a business plan and proceeded through a savings program which will determine the size of their loan. One of our guests from Indiana was the speaker for the graduation, and watching the dynamic develop between speaker and audience was quite amazing. Remember that the Liberian dialect is pretty distinct from American English, and this is always a challenge for visitors. But, undaunted, Kent Ringger from Indiana delved into a story about a man who believed in his investment in his horse, despite the skepticism of his village. And his luck changed back and forth but he held fast to his investment.

By the end of the story, Kent had the audience laughing and nodding, and during the Q&A time, it took only about, say, 2 questions to get right to the heart of things: Boundaries. This it the favorite topic of our clients, as I have said before, and speaks to the challenge which many Liberian business owners face, trying to separate the many needs of family and friends from their business assets. As Kent was beginning to answer the question of how to not use the loan you’ve just received from LEAD, if you need to pay for a funeral and there’s no one else to help you, the room exploded into mayhem. This strong reaction was a bit intimidating, so as 50 Liberians burst into stories and discussion about the many ways their businesses and family needs have come into conflict, I was trying to assure Kent that everything was okay, that lots of palava is a good thing.

So I suppose what I’m trying to point to a second time is how meaningful it is, when you bring us all together. At the conference, in Buchanan, in Gbarnga, at the LEAD office in Monrovia. Supporters from the US and the staff at the office, and the clients in the field. We need each other. There is a give and take, which goes both directions and it’s a good, good thing.

I am so happy to be at the end of February, ready to journey into the next phase of work and life in Liberia, with the conference successfully behind us. And I am feeling encouraged, and supported, and inspired to continue. By my country-people from the Midwest, who journey so far because of their investment in the work of LEAD and Partners Worldwide. By the LEAD staff who know how to make things happen and take care of the clients and myself as though we were family.

Most of all by the clients, who get up at five in the morning in order to open their businesses; who try to take care of their employees though times are hard... who answer the question “How is your business doing?” with “We trying”... who take the time to come to LEAD’s trainings to develop their business skills and assets, though they are juggling their business, family needs, and plenty else... and whose entrepreneurial spirit perseveres amidst so many setbacks, and which ultimately, eventually, will lead to the growth of their business.