Back in Ghana.

Today marks my first full day back in Ghana. I arrived yesterday accompanied by Sheri Fella, Prof. of Management, and Fred Perry from the IU CIBER Office. The three of us comprise the Globase Ghana Faculty/Staff leadership team. I made my first voyage to Ghana last March with Sheri as we accompanied 20 students and staff on a Kelley Undergraduate Program Emerging Economy trip. The objective of this visit is to explore potential partnerships with NPOs and burgeoning entrepreneurs in-country.

We arrived yesterday afternoon and on the way to our hotel, stopped briefly to purchase Ghana soccer jerseys from a local street vendor. Following a expedited check in and quick change in to our jerseys, we headed to a "spot" called Champs Sports Bar. Nothing like the Champps of American burger fame but an excellent place to watch the Ghana vs. Germany game nonetheless. Unfortunately, Ghana lost (1-0) but the crowd was quickly resuscitated as the tv announcer shared that Ghana advanced to the next round of play. Dancing in the streets, literally!

Today proved to be a productive day for our team of three. We visited two NPOs in Accra to discuss partnership opportunities. The first NPO, Women in Progress (WIP)/Global Mamas, works with Ghanaian women who sew batik fabrics and design bead necklaces among other items. We met with Renee, a former Peace Corps volunteer who founded WIP with one of her Peace Corps colleagues, and she had so much to share. I think there is real potential for partnership with the organization and/or its artisans.

We also met with an organization called Aid to Artisans Ghana (ATAG). Created by a mother/daughter team in the early 1990's, this organization works with Ghanaian artisans to develop products, educate them on business practices, and find markets for their crafts. The beauty I found in this organization was its leader's appreciation for the evolution of the global economy. She recognizes the need for her organization and its partners to weave the tradition of their craft with the modernization of the marketplace and ultimately, the preferences of the end consumer. Her realistic and business-oriented outlook, tills fertile ground for a partnership.

What stands out to me is the spirit of these women and, from what I can tell from their stories during our brief meetings, their perseverance to lead mission-driven organizations to better the working and living conditions of the communities in which they subsist.

We'll spend the remainder of the evening debriefing our day and all that we learned and preparing for our meetings tomorrow AM and a subsequent trip north to Mole. More soon!