Today Whit, Max, Andrew, and I made the pilgrimage to Accra to attend some business meetings. Although Accra is less than 100 kilometers away (see map below), it takes more than 2 hours to get there due to the condition of the roads, traffic, pedestrians, etc.
We first met with HealthKeepers They are an organization that is working to help rural Ghanians prevent several curable diseases and sicknesses including malaria, diarrhea, and sti's. The accomplish this mission by providing a basket of products and services which their "HealthKeepers" take door to door to the rural villagers. This "basket of goods" is literally a basket that they carry on their head. I had heard about these guys from Brad Hales, from the BYU ESR center. I contacted HealthKeepers and made arrangements for us to meet with them today.
The meeting went well. We learned a lot about their organization and discussed how Burro might be able to collaborate / partner with HealthKeepers. It will be interesting to see if we can reach some type of partnership agreement.
So one thing that is fairly common here in Ghana, as I am sure with many other parts of Africa, is to sell items on the side of the road. Sure you can expect to buy fruits, vegteables, and other food items on the side of the road. But how about some of the following items that I saw today:
So one thing that is fairly common here in Ghana, as I am sure with many other parts of Africa, is to sell items on the side of the road. Sure you can expect to buy fruits, vegteables, and other food items on the side of the road. But how about some of the following items that I saw today:
Desks anyone?
How about a bouncer for your little one?
Ironing boards, we have ironing boards
Can I offer you a pack-n-play?
After our meeting with HealthKeepers, we grabbed some lunch at a great Indian place here in Accra. Can I say that I don't know if Indian has ever tasted so good. Chicken coconut curry, rice, and garlic naan. Yum!!!!!!
Cool doors leading into the restaurant
One of the best Indian meals that I have ever had
Finally, on the way out of Accra, we stopped at the Accra mall. It is the only "mall" in the region. Part of the mall includes the only grocery store. Because of this, a trip to Accra always means a trip to Shoprite to stock up on groceries for the next several weeks, if not longer. Needless to say, we got a lot of great food, including a block of cheese (which I haven't eaten for more than a month now).
The highlight of the trip was being able to have some time just to talk with Whit about Burro and his vision for the company. The past several weeks he has been pretty swamped with a lot of other items that need to get done before he leaves the country (he takes off for the US in less than 2 weeks). Whit really has a vision for this company and if it all comes to fruition, it won't be too long before all of you have heard of Burro!!!!
2 comments:
I can't believe all the different things that are sold on the side of the road. The Indian food looks so good! Is it better than Amber?
Sorry to correct you but there have been since I was a kid (and I am no spring chicken a lot of grocery stores in Ghana. Shoprite is just one in a long line. It is just a very BIG grocery store in comparison to it's predecessors and competition.
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