A Busy Day....

It's been quite a day today.  Firstly I had my final jabs and the approval of Nurse Tina for the sterile medical kit I've got (thank goodness).

Then Jan ran me to Epping to get the tube into London, where I met with Tim Heath from the East London Small Business Centre (ELSBC) where my former boss Adrian Stewart used to be a Board member.  Tim was very generous with his time, and I came away with some useful insights into the issues facing fledgling and small businesses, particularly in the ethnic minority communities.  Thanks, Tim, and thanks Adrian for putting me in touch with him.

Then on to Chancery Lane for a meeting hosted by Daliah and Sarah from Challenges Worldwide, primarily intended to be an initial briefing for consultants lined up for Malawi in the future, and for some who are still considering it as an option.  We heard from Alastair Byres who was out in Blantyre at the start of the project, and who is going back later.  Alastair regaled us with tales and pictures of his experiences, and I certainly felt that I had a better feel for what I'll find when I get out there, as well as things I must do whilst in the country.

And then I met up with my boy David for a beer and a pizza before getting on the tube back to Epping.  So it's been a very useful and fun day, and another step towards next Monday.

How Brilliant Is This?

So what's this Malawi thing all about?

It started for me at the end of April, when Jan (my wife) came back from a meeting in London with a copy of the Metro newspaper.  In it was an advert from Challenges Worldwide (CWW) asking for volunteers to join a project team based in Blantyre, Malawi.  

The project is funded by the Scottish Government, and aims to build an indigenous consultancy capacity in the country through UK consultants working on live projects for micro, small and medium-sized organisations, and also training and mentoring local apprentice consultants.

It struck me as a well-defined and sustainable approach and one that seemed extremely worthwhile, so I called CWW up and received a load of information.  There was a need for a new consultant to get out to Malawi urgently to work on a new client requirement, so on 17 May I had an interview, was offered the position, and my e-tickets to Lilongwe with Kenya Airways arrived in my inbox this afternoon (18 May).

It's now all a question of rushing about to get all my stuff together ready for the off.  I can't wait.