We're leaving tomorrow

Tomorrow evening we are leaving Canada, and will be in Accra, the capital of Ghana, on Sunday. We have spent most of the day as a team planning our work, but we're all clear that the detailed work can't really start until we hit Ghana.

It was also an opportunity to sort out how much money we need and how we can access it. A number of long phone calls to the bank and Amex today and all the options I thought would work appear non-starters. I hope I can remember the PIN number for my VISA card...


Lance took us through the provision of mental health care in Ghana, and what BasicNeeds are doing in conjunction with other organisations such as the government and the donor community. The objectives of the project are becoming clearer, but I'll describe them once I get to Ghana.

What is very reassuring is that Lance understands why we are doing this, that it is a learning experience for us and we don't want to just treat this as "another job" just in a different setting. When I asked him what his concerns were about having three PwC partners work in an organisation with only 19 people, it was that we should not be too ambitious as to what we could achieve, and that we should remain healthy and well during our trip. What a change from the usual client response, "the fees are too high!", "can you report back 2 weeks quicker!", "I'm not happy with the engagement letter!". I have a feeling we are going to get on well ...