A successful proposal

I really pleased… chuffed to bits in fact.  It’s been a long time coming – two and a half months but I’m pleased to say I’ve managed to get some money for the Science Resource Box Project.  It’s not the full amount, as expected,  It was a ridiculous amount in total, some 30 + thousand Ghana cedi but I got some of it.  It’s probably seemed that work has not really been happening for me since I’ve been back but I’ve been doing more than I did this time last year in my first 3 months but very much along the same lines, prepping the ground for next term.  I tried to pre-empt that and got a lot sorted before I went back to the UK, but this is Ghana and things just don’t quite work out how you plan them.  Still I have a few projects hoting up as I write this. The Talensi-Nabdam training I’m doing with Hells Bells AKA Helen.  The SEN project with Leela and Janice I’m trying to get working at regional level, a management support project for Talensi-Nabdam I’ve been asked to get involved with.  A couple of smaller projects; ICT and STMIE, and last but not least, my Science Resource Box Project.  That’s my most satisfying as I’ve done the pilot project, evaluated, planned for a roll out and written a proposal which has been accepted in part by an external NGO, World Vision, so it must have made some sense.

The meeting was postponed initially by WV and the second time around the District Director for education couldn’t join me so he asked his HR Officer to attend. The manager at WV started the meeting by going over the issues of the timing of the arrival of my proposal to his office; just as the financial year had started, after all the activities for the funding had been allocated. To say I sunk a few feet into my chair was an understatement – prognosis was not looking good. He mentioned the part of the project I wanted external funding for was something their funding covered; teaching and learning materials and they had looked at reallocating funds that were in that pot from other activities to see what was possible… My internal dialogue, while he continued to justify why he was going to give me what he was going to give me, went something like this ‘Oh great, looking up, possibility they could fund one or two boxes then, what’s that? 700 Ghana cedi a box…. Maybe they’re going to give me 1400 GHC… how much is that from 30,000… shit. Where am I going to find the rest there is no way two boxes will be enough, I had 10 for the bloody pilot………….bet the other NGOs I went to………….‘ Then out loud, having heard something unbelievable in the on-going external conversation, I said ‘Sorry what. How many boxes?’ the cool manager replies with ‘sixteen boxes… using your figures that works out to…’ [small pause to turn a page], ‘12,600 GHC’.  Well knock me down with a feather. [Small pause and licking of lips while my mouth dried out] and all I could manage was a very professional(?) ‘Oh my goodness that’s amazing, brilliant, I can’t believe it…16 boxes… wow. Fabulous. 12, 600 GHC… Ha’ then turning to HR and under my breath telling him I nearly fell off my chair…which was true.  They’ve got to be grateful I didn’t start whooping around the room.  Twelve thousand six hundred Ghana cedi. About 4,200 of your British pounds… sounds better in cedi.  

Anyway, I jumped feet first into obtaining a letter to procure the first instalment of 9000 Ghana cedi.  What do they say? If you want something done well, do it yourself.  In Ghana if you want something done in a timely manner, write the damn letter yourself, which I did, for the District Director who skimmed and signed. He really shouldn’t trust me that much – you all know how bad my letter writing is (…I have visions of writing that job application letter with two lovely ladies…. Erase, erase). Not particularly capacity building but I’m about 8 weeks behind schedule and anyway, I’m going to be building bucket loads of capacity next term ( hopefully, if all goes to plan). Anyway fact is tomorrow I’m off to the regional WV office to collect the cheque. So over the next few weeks I’m going to be building science resource boxes. Sixteen of those lovely babies to be precise, which will wing their way next term with a bucket load of training to 16 needy Junior High Schools in Talensi. Let’s hope they’re ready!